


Grimm Tidings

by Amycat8733



Series: Lightning 'verse [14]
Category: Grimm (TV), Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-01-12 07:50:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1183756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amycat8733/pseuds/Amycat8733
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A string of suspicious deaths cause two worlds to collide as Team Sheppard and Portland’s Grimm meet. Solving the crimes will take the skills of both teams and every ounce of courage they possess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first crossover and I chose two of my faves - Stargate Atlantis and Grimm.  
> I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it.  
> Thanks to Kickstand75 for her beta on this.

Matt Brewer was a simple man. He’d grown up on this farm, married a local gal and they worked the land beside his folks until they died a few years ago. Now, it was just him because Suzanne had decided that there had to be more to life than just farming. She withdrew half the money in the bank accounts, took his mother’s antique jewelry and the sporty car he’d bought her last year, and left. Her mother had called a month after Suzanne left to tell him that Suzanne had been killed in a car accident. Apparently she’d been drinking and ran off the road. The car burst into flames. They had to identify her by dental records. Mrs. Holloman told him what to do if he wanted to claim the body, at which point he told her that since Suzanne left him that he didn’t want her back. Mrs. Holloman got so upset that she actually cursed him out before hanging up on him.

Looking out across the fields in the dim light of evening, he considered the future. He had left a good deal of the land fallow this year because he didn’t have enough money to pay workers to help with it. Knowing it would only get worse, he was seriously considering selling the land. He turned to go back into the empty house when movement caught his eye. Squaring his shoulders, he decided to go investigate, figuring that it was some fool kid that’d broke in looking for drugs or something to steal. Too bad Suzanne had already beaten them to it. Reaching the edge of the porch, he peered around, looking for the source of the movement he’d seen. After circling the structure, he was about to go inside the house when an indistinct white shape floated across his view. He turned, watching the shape as it floated towards the woods. The shape faded at the edge of the woods. Looking around in disgust, he figured that it was probably just a wisp of fog and that his imagination was playing tricks on him. Just as he turned to head into the house a heavy hand spun him around to face the ugliest person he’d ever seen. The guy had long white hair and Matt would swear that his skin was greenish, but it was hard to tell in the low light. The guy leaned forward, grabbing Matt by the shirt collar and ripped it open.

Matt swung at his hand. “Hey, what’d you do that for?”

The guy hissed. “Because I hunger.”

Matt attempted to shrug the guy off. “Well, if you’re hungry, I can fix you something. Got plenty of food inside. What would you like to eat?”

The guy smiled, revealing a mouth full of pointed teeth, just as he placed his right hand on Matt’s chest. “You.” 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Christine Appleton nudged the door to her apartment open, bags of groceries in each hand. She kicked the door closed, heading for her tiny kitchen. Depression set in as she put away her groceries. Everything was something that could be eaten as is or microwaved. Nothing had to be cooked and there had been a time when she would cook regardless of the time she got home. Those days were gone. Her boss was a prick; her job was now to do her own work and most of his while he screwed a succession of secretaries. He kept trying to get her to go out with him, but Christine knew that it didn’t matter what he promised, he would never keep a single word.

A slight sound warned her that she was not alone. Turning, she choked out an attempt at a scream. A man with long white hair and a pale complexion, dressed in dark clothing, stood in the archway to her kitchen. Staring at it, she heard a voice command her to her knees. A cold hand tipped with sharp nails gently caressed her face as sharp teeth were revealed behind parted lips. As she knelt in her kitchen, she opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emerged as the man placed his hand over her heart.

Minutes later, the man walked out, the door standing ajar but no one was alive to care.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Many miles away, a copy of the police report from the Brewer farm crossed the desk of Captain Paul Hardy. He read it and grimaced. He took a deep breath then picked up his phone and dialed a private number. “General, we have a problem.”

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Kickstand75 for her beta on this one.
> 
> Just to let you know, this is the first full-length crossover I have found. Enjoy!

Detective Nick Burkhardt had just gotten started on his day’s paperwork when Sergeant Wu walked in with a thick stack of files. Nick’s partner, Detective Hank Griffin was right behind him with two cups of coffee.

Wu waved the stack of files. “Guys, this one is weird.”

Hank handed Nick his coffee then dropped into his seat. “Weird, as in Ripley’s weird?”

Wu shook his head. “Nope, weird as in Twilight Zone weird.”

Nick shared a look with Hank. “How are they weird?”

Wu flipped open the top case file, flipping through a few pages until he reaches a stack of photos. Pulling one out, he handed it to Nick. “The victims all died of old age.”

Hank snorted, leaning back in his chair. “That’s not weird, that’s nature.”

Wu shook his head again and pulled out another photo. “Not when the victim was a 28 year old woman.”

Nick took the second, laying them side by side. The first photo is of a red haired woman, taken at a party. In the photo she was vibrant, laughing and very healthy looking. The second photo was a contrast. The figure had faded reddish-orange hair and was nothing but skin and bones.

“Wu, how far apart were these pictures taken?” Nick asked, looking up at the Sergeant.

“Twelve hours. Her roommate discovered the body this morning. The ME is working on the autopsy right now and said she’ll have something for you in a few hours.” He split the stack of files, handing some to both detectives. “Meanwhile, here’s your required reading. Have fun!” With a sarcastic grin, the Asian-American sergeant headed off.

Making sure the sergeant was out of earshot, Hank leaned across his desk towards his partner. “Do you think this is one of those cases?”

Flipping through a file, Nick shook his head. “I don’t know. It could be, but something is off, I just can’t figure out what.”

The two settled in, flipping through files and making notes. The more he read, the greater the feeling in Nick’s gut grew. There were a lot of things that didn’t add up, and he had a feeling they were about to get worse.

Nick looked at his watch as he set another case file aside. Noting the time, he stood, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair. “Hey, Hank, it’s time. Let’s go see what the ME has for us.”

Hank stood, stretching as he grabbed his own jacket. “Gotcha.” He glanced at his partner as they headed for their car. “Nick, this is one crazy case. There are so many inconsistencies that it’s not funny.”

“I noticed.” Nick waited until they were in the car before he said more. “There are some things that are very consistent though. All of the victims died of old age, there were no signs of break-ins and they all had odd marks on their chests near the heart.”

Hank cut his eyes at his partner. He felt strange having to ask the next question, but it still needed to be asked. There were times, though, that he longed for the days when Nick was just a very good detective with a keen eye and a well-developed spidey sense. “Do you think it’s a _wesen_?”

Nick stared out the window, lost in thought as he ran through the wesen he knew of. His answer, though honest, did nothing to assuage his partner’s unease. “I have no idea.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Colonel John Sheppard was enjoying a peaceful day. He was happily married to the greatest woman in two galaxies with three beautiful children. Atlantis was where it should be – at home, in the Pegasus Galaxy. Their current planet, Tria was a beautiful place. It was about Earth’s size, although it was slightly more than two-thirds water. Moonrise was exceptional, and late picnics had become very popular as Tria had three moons.

They had only been on Tria for a short time. Lantea had been Atlantis’ first home in Pegasus and they had returned there after defeating Queen Death near Ice Planet Zero[1] . However, the remaining Wraith had spread out, searching every planet for food, even planets they had previously culled completely or scorched. They had been discovered by a damaged cruiser that fortunately decided to be greedy and attempt to take the city instead of calling for reinforcements.

Their arrogance made it easy for the city to resist. Woolsey wanted John to shoot it down with drones, but John’s plan was to slip a group of pilots onboard, steal a few Darts and take the cruiser out with friendly fire. John’s plan worked, although one of the pilots was stunned before he could board a Dart. Fortunately, the rest of John’s team, along with Lorne’s, had insisted on coming along to cover the pilots while they hijacked the Darts. McKay had refined his control program from a few years earlier by using some of the technological knowledge that he’d acquired during his time as a Wraith, even designing a connector that would interface Earth tablets with the Wraith tech.

After taking out the cruiser, it was decided to move the city again in case any other ships came to investigate. After consideration, they decided on the Ruatha system. It had many of the same qualities as Lantea, but it was in a sparse area. The Wraith, even when starving, tended to avoid areas with few planets as the cost was seen as too high for the amount of gain. It also helped that Tria had been seeded as a landing site for Atlantis. There were no large, dangerous creatures roaming the mainland and a sizeable amount of the vegetation was edible. There was also plenty of arable land, which could be farmed once Praxis finished building the coloni mechanae that would be doing the work, as they were unwilling to import farmers until they had assembled substantial planetary defenses and had some method to evacuate personnel quickly.

Therefore, it was really no surprise when an unscheduled activation was announced partway through the morning. John had just finished the weekly briefing for the Gate teams and was headed for his office to catch up his paperwork. Letting out a sigh, John headed for the Ops deck. “Salawi, do we have an IDC?”

Lydia Salawi glanced over at the terminal that displayed the incoming codes. “IDC belongs to Stargate Command. I’m receiving an incoming signal.” She listened to the message for a moment. “It’s General O’Neill for you, Sir.”

John took up station behind her, tapping his com unit to the command channel. “This is Sheppard. I’m presuming that you didn’t call to wish me a happy Fourth of July, Sir.”

He heard Jack chuckle in his ear. _“Nope, although the fireworks from Pike’s Peak were spectacular. I’m afraid that I need your team to take care of a problem.”_

John groaned inwardly. “What kind of problem?”

_“It seems that we may have … missed … a Wraith here on Earth.”_

“Son of a bitch.” John uttered softly but with deep feeling.

_“Exactly.”_

“Why has it taken this long to be discovered? I thought all the wreckage was tracked, bagged and tagged?”

Jack sighed. _“We think this Wraith was ejected before it crashed and was missed by the clean-up crews. I’m sending all the information we have.”_ Jack paused _. “I understand that McKay and Zelenka recently got the bio-scanners fully operational.”_

John nodded even though the General couldn’t see him. Remembering the General’s dislike of wordy explanations, he decided to keep it simple. “Yes, Sir. No more mandatory quarantines. The scanners can now detect harmful pathogens as well as disguised life forms.”

_“Excellent. I’m sending the data packet now.”_

John glanced down at the terminal in front of him. “Packet received, Sir.”

_“How soon can you be here?”_

John thought a minute, calculating times. “We can be there in 12 hours. Teyla and Ronon are off-world overseeing a trade agreement renewal and are due back soon.”

_“I’ll see you when you get here. O’Neill out.”_

As the wormhole vanished, John dropped his head for a moment, fingers massaging the bridge of his nose. Straightening, he crossed the bridge to Woolsey’s office. Woolsey was seated behind his desk, a cup of coffee in his hand, staring through the window to the Gate Room and beyond. Not wanting to startle him, John tapped on the door frame.

“Yes, Colonel?” Woolsey asked as he straightened in his seat.

“Just got off a call with General O’Neill.” John pointed over his shoulder at the Stargate. “Seems they have an unwanted visitor that they need my team’s help to get rid of.”

Woolsey frowned. He disliked having Sheppard off world as the city always felt … on edge. He had an idea as to how to fix it, but the time was not yet right. “Why your team? Surely Stargate Command has plenty of troops that can kill a Wraith.”

John leaned against the doorway. “They do, but only Teyla can sense them, plus my team has the highest kill count when it comes to Wraith.”

Woolsey sighed. Sheppard had a point – his team were the best equipped to handle a wraith, especially one loose on Earth.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick and Hank walked in just as the Medical Examiner was finishing the autopsy on the latest victim. She looked up at the pair as they stopped near her station.

“Hello, boys. Come to see our newest odd one?”

Nick nodded seriously. “Yes, ma’am. What do you have for us?”

The ME finished jotting down her notes before answering. “Well, this is definitely odd.” She pointed to the draped body on the table. “This was a female, age 28. She was found dead early yesterday by her roommate.” She pulled back the sheet, revealing the body.

Hank looked at the body then shot the ME a skeptical look. “She might have been twenty-eight … about a couple of thousand years ago.”

The ME shook her head in disagreement. “Nope, checked that in case this was a prank. She has modern dental work.”

Nick examined the body, looking for clues as to the perpetrator. “Were there any unusual marks?”

The ME nodded. “Just this one.” She pulled the sheet down just enough to reveal the mark. On the woman’s left chest, above the heart, was a black area the shape of a hand.

Nick cocked his head as he committed the details to memory. The print looked familiar, but he would have to check the journals to be sure. “Thanks, Doc. Send us the report when you’re done.”

She covered the body and signaled one of the orderlies to take it to the refrigerators. “You got it, Detective.”

Hank waited until they were back in the car before he questioned Nick. “You suspect something about the marks.”

Nick stared out the window, thoughts flying. “Yeah, I do, but I need to check the journals.”

Hank sighed as he turned the car towards the storage lot where Nick’s trailer was. “Guess we better stop at Grand Central – this is gonna be a long day.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

When the Atlantis Expedition originally arrived in the city, they didn’t have a lot of power so everyone was grouped into a rather small area. Once they had a bit more power, people started spreading out, but they were still rather cozy. Now, with three ZPM’s and a larger population everyone was really spreading out. There were areas that still hadn’t been explored, but the entire city was structurally sound now. 

Tired of the traffic flow past his office and the tight space, John had recently moved his office. He designated the smaller office he had formerly inhabited as the office for the Officer on Duty. His new office was up one floor and much bigger. It looked out over the Gateroom but was now off the beaten path. His new office had several advantages, one of which would come in handy. The room had three view-screens so he could put up multiple images as well as small duplicates of many of the consoles from the Ops Deck. When he moved in, John suspected that it was an Auxiliary Control Room but Atlantis informed him that it was his Ancient counterpart’s office. Settling down behind his desk, he closed the reports he’d been working on and called up Jack’s packet.

Reading over the reports, it was easy for John to pick out this particular Wraith’s pattern. It was definitely a Blade – probably middle-aged as a young one would be too eager to hunt and would gorge itself. Looking through the photos, he noticed an anomaly. Tapping a few keys on his tablet, he put the images on the screens. Enlarged, the anomalies were even more obvious. Some of the pictures had the traditional Wraith feeding mark – the bloody oval with the equally bloody claw marks above it. The other pictures had a different mark – a black handprint. The placement was similar, but the second set of prints was not Wraith – the print was too slender. Great, that meant there was already a problem. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, John leaned back in his chair, eyes closed as he chased the headache away. After a few moments, he stood, heading to check on the kids. Torren was now five and the twins were just a year old. The SGC hired a teacher a few months ago so Torren and the other children could receive a formal education. When the issue of their education came up, John had remembered that Dr. Graham’s wife was a teacher. After signing the non-disclosure agreement, she had jumped at the chance. The State of Colorado believed they were being homeschooled by a tutor, which was actually the truth, just not all of it. Joseph and Charin weren’t quite old enough for a full day of learning, but they were receiving lessons.

Stopping in the doorway to the Teaching Room, John’s face softened as he gazed on his children. Torren looked so much like him that it was hard to believe that he wasn’t John’s blood kin. Joseph and Charin were fraternal twins, but fortunately their differing sexes changed their looks just enough to downplay the twin-ness.

“Daddy,” Torren cried as he spotted John leaning on the doorframe.

“Da,” the twins ran across the floor and latched onto his legs, Torren following behind them.

John dislodged the twins and knelt to their height to encircle them in his arms. “Hey guys, how’re my kids doing?”

“We’re fine Daddy. We missed you whole bunch.” Torren matched deed to words and wrapped his arms around John’s neck as the twins babbled away.

“Are you behaving for Mrs. Graham?”

Torren nodded, suddenly shy.

“They are all very well-behaved, Colonel. I wish every child that I have ever taught was as good as yours.” Sandy Graham said as she walked over.

“Thanks. We’ve tried very hard to instill good behaviors in them.”

Sandy smiled. “Well, you’ve both done very well. They are a testament to the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child.”

John rubbed the back of his neck. “Occupational hazard.”

She clapped her hands. “I presume you came for snack time?”

John nodded.

Sandy picked up Charin as John hoisted Joseph to his hip and they headed across to a table. He got the kids seated while she retrieved the munchies. John sat at a kid-sized table, eating Goldfish crackers, apple slices and drinking milk and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so thrilled by the reception this story has gotten. Thanks to all of you that have left comments or kudos!  
> Special thanks to Kickstand75 and Alicesandra for their beta on this and to Sulien for providing local color. You ladies rock!  
> Also, part of this story was borrowed from “Summoned” by Stella-pegasi with permission. Thanks, Stella!

 

Colonel John Sheppard and his team paused at the top of the ramp as the wormhole shut down behind them. Lieutenant General Jack O’Neill awaited them at the bottom.

John noted the new stars as he saluted. “General, congratulations.”

Jack inclined his head as he returned the salute. “Thanks, Colonel.” He turned to the rest of the team. “Teyla, Ronon, nice to see you again.” He started walking towards the interior. “You too, McKay.”

“Gee, thanks, General. Did they give you a sarcasm injection along with the stars?” Rodney’s snark knob was turned up to eleven.

Jack turned and cast a smirk over his shoulder. “Nah, each star just lets me use more of what I already had.”

“Man, I need a set of those.” John muttered under his breath. Teyla rolled her eyes and Ronon grinned.

Jack led them to the conference room overlooking the Gate. He poured coffee for himself, Sheppard, and McKay and tea for Teyla. He handed out the mugs and settled as the Lanteans got comfortable. Ronon took up station at Sheppard’s back, fingers never too far away from his blaster.

Jack leaned forward. “Sorry to pull you away from Atlantis, but the four of you are the best Wraith hunters in the SGC.”

John toyed with his cup. “I looked over the files you sent. I think we have two different creatures.”

“How so?” Jack frowned. “I had our forensics experts go over them. They assured me we’re dealing with a Wraith.”

“Oh, we have a Wraith, but we have something else as well.” John gestured towards the monitor. “Can we call up the pictures and I’ll show you?”

Jack handed him the remote but Rodney reached over and snatched it.

“I went through those files as well and I want to see what you think we all missed and I want to see them before Christmas.” Rodney said as he called up the pictures.

John stood and retrieved the remote before walking over to the screen. He cycled through some of the images until he got what he wanted. He put two of the images on screen then returned to his seat. “Okay, does anyone see the anomalies?”

They all focused on the screen. John watched as four sets of eyes tracked back and forth. After several minutes, he stood back up. “Anyone figure it out?” He clicked a few buttons and isolated parts of the pictures then zoomed in. “How about now?”

Unsurprisingly, it was Ronon that caught it. “The handprints are different.”

Jack leaned back, a look of disgust on his face. “Great. You haven’t even set foot in Portland and there’s already a problem.” He glared at John. “Keep this up and I’ll promote you.” John looked horrified, despite his joking about needing stars on his uniform a few moments ago, and that made Jack consider it all the more seriously.

John regained his seat. “So, Portland?”

Jack retrieved the remote and pulled up a set of files. “The bodies that have been discovered so far have been found in Portland. Two of Portland’s finest have been assigned the case.” He flashed up two pictures. “The one on the left is Detective Hank Griffin while the one on the right is his partner Detective Nick Burkhardt.”

John studied the two officers. Griffin was muscular with a smiling face and intelligent eyes. He had a look that said he didn’t miss much. Burkhardt was slim but muscular, black hair, lightly tan skin and green eyes. He too had the look of a seasoned police officer, but there was something else … a sense of familiarity that John couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“The pair has made a name for themselves recently in solving a lot of strange cases. The reports read pretty standard, but speaking as someone who long ago learned the art of only writing what the higher-ups want to see, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.” Jack let his gaze travel, catching the eyes of each person in the room. “You leave tomorrow. I want you to work with Portland P.D., find whatever’s doing this and stop it.” He stood and headed for the door, the Lanteans trailing behind.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hilda Ziegfert was very patient, the product of a long life. Sitting in the café, she watched as a group of young women attempted to comfort another of their group. Apparently the bereft woman had recently separated from her longtime boyfriend when he revealed that he was the third in a ménage a trois and could no longer pretend to be interested in her vanilla lifestyle. The anguish flowing from the jilted woman was delicious even from across the eatery.

She kept a careful watch on the group as they convinced the woman to go to a nearby spa for some pampering. She paid her tab and followed at a distance, staying just close enough to keep abreast of their movements. At the spa, she settled in at a park across the street to await her quarry’s return.

Her target emerged with the setting sun, her friends trailing behind. She could barely catch the sounds of their conversation, but heard enough to know that her target was heading home alone. She planned to stop at the grocery store then go home and drown her sorrows.

Hilda once again trailed her intended at a distance as she did her shopping and trudged home. Reaching inside her coat, she rubbed the medallion she had recovered from her mother’s decapitated body. A tingle in her fingers meant her pet was on its way.

Hilda waited until the target had been inside for only a few minutes knowing she would be off her guard. She was about to send her pet towards the woman’s door when she caught sight of a flash of white. She hurried across the street in order to get a better look but the figure was too quick. By the time she reached her target’s door, her pet and the strange creature were engaged. She took a moment to study the interloper. It had long white hair, greenish skin, and wore a ragged black leather coat.

The creature snarled and she saw a mouthful of fangs as it raised its right hand in an odd strike. The creature voiced a roar as it slammed its hand into her pet’s chest, a look of victory crossing its face. The triumphant look only lasted for a moment as the creature pulled its hand back. “You are not human.”

“It was once.” Hilda said in response to its question from her position in the doorway. “Now it is a servant, able only to do its master’s bidding.”

The creature cocked its head at her. “And what would you bid it do?”

Her reply was simple. “Feed me.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Morning came all too soon in Colorado as John blinked bleary eyes at the bedside clock. Normally, he’d be getting up to run with Ronon, but they couldn’t run the corridors here and neither liked just running laps so they’d decided to skip a day. Since he wasn’t running and their flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 10 am, he rolled over, snuggled with Teyla and went back to sleep.

Teyla getting up two hours later roused him again. John groaned and sat up, turning so his feet hit the floor.

“John, are you well?”

He reached up and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m alright. I just feel … off this morning.”

“Maybe it is because you did not run with Ronon?” Teyla asked as she settled beside him and placed her hand on his forehead.

“Maybe.” He waited until she pulled her hand back before rising. “I’m gonna take a shower.” John let the spray beat against his skin, loosening the sore muscles in his back and shoulders. He stepped out and dried off making sure he got his hair dry enough it wouldn’t drip. It didn’t matter when he was putting on his everyday black BDUs but it was different when he had to wear his dress uniform, which he had to do today because they were traveling on the Air Force’s dime. He slipped into his boxers and t-shirt before going to shave. When he exited the bathroom, breakfast was waiting.

They ate quickly and John was slipping into the last pieces of his uniform when a brisk knock sounded. Curious, Teyla opened the door and found Ronon standing there wearing a leather duster, green button down shirt, jeans, and boots.

Ronon cocked a thumb over his shoulder. “O’Neill wants to see us before we leave.”

Just as they stepped into the hall, an airman came around the corner and ducked in behind them to gather their luggage. He would see that it got to their transport.

They made their way through the halls in silence. John wondered what Jack was up to. The General was as sneaky as he was and could get away with a lot more crap than John could. Maybe he had new information to relay or … John shook his head to clear his thoughts. Guessing games had no benefit except to act as fertilizer for headaches.

Ronon stopped at a door and John snapped from his musings to check out the area. He realized they were not at Jack’s office just as Ronon opened the door. He held the door and ushered John and Teyla inside then quickly stepped in and shut it.

John took in the gathering with a hefty dose of apprehension. Jack and Landry were present along with Sam, Caldwell, Cam, Teal’c, Daniel and Vala. Rodney, who was wearing what he called his travelling suit, was seated at the conference table seemingly engrossed in his tablet.

Landry stood as John came to a halt a few feet from the table. “Colonel, Mrs. Sheppard, thank you for joining us.”

John stood stiffly. “Did I have a choice, Sir?”

Landry cast a glare his way as Jack coughed to disguise a laugh. “No, not really.” He threw another glare at Jack who just shrugged. “Since time is precious, let me get to the point. After a long three-way conversation, the President called the Secretary of the Air Force. They had another long talk and this,” he picked up a blue leather folder, “is the result.” He flipped it open and displayed the contents.

**This** was a set of formal orders.

Landry watched Sheppard as he glanced at the order he held. When Sheppard realized what the order was for, he snapped to attention. The man definitely wore the uniform well. He moved with poise and grace that most officers never got and the chest full of ribbons didn’t hurt either. Landry knew the real story behind those pieces of chest candy and knew of the scars that went with them. Glancing over Sheppard’s impressive collection in addition to the pair of wings he wore, Landry realized that Sheppard had more awards than any of the rest of them. Jack was the only one that came close. He caught Jack’s smirk and knew that he had just been waiting for the rest of them to figure out what he already knew.

“When you first obtained this post, I was more than a bit skeptical about your ability to handle the situation. After seven years and several bumps along the way, I can honestly say that I am glad that I accepted the advice of a certain other General and left you in Atlantis. In preparation for this day, I took a look at your record and realized that I could not imagine another officer that could have done the same things any better.”

John opened his mouth to protest and Jack shook his head from his seat at the table. “Don’t bother, Sheppard. It was already in the works. The President just moved things along a bit. He felt you deserved recognition for your selfless acts of valor, and that your sense of responsibility for those you have been charged to protect should not go unrewarded. The respect you have earned from those in your command, and those who have commanded you, should not go unacknowledged. So, since we can't give you a big bonus, or a new car, we can only give you this, the promotion you deserve, and our respect." Jack flashed a sly grin at John, who was staring at the general, his face an unreadable mask.

Standing, Jack turned to Landry. “General Landry, do you hold the orders?" he asked.

"Yes, sir; I do." Landry handed the orders to Jack, who proceeded to read them.

"Attention to orders: The President of the United States, acting upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Air Force, has placed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, integrity, and abilities of Colonel John Sheppard. In view of these special qualities and his demonstrated potential to serve in the higher grade, Colonel John Sheppard is promoted to the grade of Brigadier General, United States Air Force, effective this date, by order of the Secretary of the Air Force."

O’Neill handed the warrant back to Landry and exchanged it for a slightly battered dark blue jeweler’s box.

“Several years ago, at the time of my promotion to Brigadier General, General Hammond started a tradition. For my promotion, he used his own first set of stars. We will be using that same set of stars today in honor of a great man. He passed many lessons down to me and I in turn have passed those lessons on to those who serve under me. Those of us who serve in the SGC are the best of the best and it is to honor one of our own that this pair of stars is passed on.”

"Dr. Rodney McKay, Mrs. Teyla Emmagan-Sheppard, and Specialist Ronon Dex, would you please step forward and pin on Brigadier General Sheppard's new rank."

They posed for a quick photo. Then Jack instructed John to raise his right hand and repeat after him.

"I, John Sheppard."

"I, John Sheppard." John’s voice was husky and a little shaky.

"Having been appointed a Brigadier General in the United States Air Force."

They continued the oath, exchanging lines: "Having been appointed a Brigadier General in the United States Air Force"/ do solemnly swear/that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States/against all enemies, foreign and domestic / that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same / that I take this obligation freely / without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion / and that I will well and faithfully discharge / the duties of the office which I am about to enter / so help me God."

Jack shook John’s hand. “Congratulations, Brigadier General John Sheppard.”

Everyone else took that as a signal and jumped up to congratulate John. Sam hugged him and kissed him on the cheek then proceeded to babble about how proud she was until Jack gently tugged her away. Teal’c clasped him by the shoulders then bowed before shaking his hand. Cam slapped John on the back before pulling him close for a guy hug. Daniel settled for shaking his hand and congratulating him. Vala stepped up after Daniel and practically glued herself to him, showering him with kisses until Daniel dislodged her and pulled her away although she managed to pinch John’s butt in the process.

Jack just stood back and watched while John sent daggered glares his way. After Vala was corralled, Ronon clapped John on the shoulder hard enough to stagger him and delivered a “Congrats, Sheppard.” Rodney just waved a hand and called out “Yes, yes, congratulations.” Teyla moved forward and twined her arms about his neck and pulled his head down for a kiss. John wrapped his arms about her as he relaxed into the kiss.

Vala, standing off to the side in Daniel’s firm grip, pouted as she observed the couple. “She is sooo lucky.”

Daniel let a small smile cross his face. “They sure are.”

When they finally surfaced for air, Jack stepped forward and put his hand on John’s back to propel him from the room. “C’mon, we need to get you kitted out before you leave.” He took them to Personnel for updated ID’s before taking them to the Quartermaster where they were issued phones. The Quartermaster, Staff Sergeant Ansell, had four iPhones sitting on the counter when they walked in. Rodney immediately hurried over, grabbed one and started customizing it.

“Jeez, Rodney, someone might think you’d never seen a phone.” John drawled as he watched Rodney practically drool.

“Humph.” Rodney sniffed. “This is not just a phone. This is an iPhone 5s. It’s Apple’s top of the line.”

Teyla walked over to peer at what Rodney was doing. “What is an eye phone? Can it see you?”

John chuckled in amusement as he accepted his and Teyla’s from Ansell. “No, it’s an iPhone” and he showed her the box. “It allows communication over very long distances. Our radios don’t have enough range to use here on Earth. We can even see each other through a feature called Face Time which works like the cameras in the laptops.” He checked the numbers in the phones and programmed them into the other’s phone then entered his Apple ID into both phones. John nodded towards the bench near the door and Teyla followed him there where he proceeded to teach ‘Cell Phone 101’.

Ansell handed Ronon the fourth phone, who looked at it in amusement. He could wrap his hand around the phone.

John paused in his lessons to see what Ronon would do. “Give it a try, Chewie.”

Ronon glared at John then tried what John had been telling Teyla. He got the phone powered on then tried to send a text.

John’s phone dinged. “Tanks prom roman?” He let out a chuff. “Try again.”

Ding. “Hanks drops oh man.”

Ronon closed his hand around the phone. “Grrr, how am I supposed to use this toy?”

Everyone stared at Ronon for a minute then John cast a look at Ansell. “Sergeant, I don’t think my big friend here is meant to text. Got something easier?”

Ansell peered up at Ronon who was looming over him with a very irritated look on his face. “Um … yes. I keep these for Teal’c.” He left the counter and reappeared a few minutes later with two boxes. The first was a flip phone and the second was a tablet. “Here, you can still text with this” and he demonstrated how, “but the keys are bigger and the phone is more durable.” Ansell opened the tablet box. “And this is for anything else you may want to do.”

Ronon took the tablet and was pleased. He glanced over at Rodney. “Now I have my own, McKay.”

Rodney waved a hand without looking up. “Good for you, Conan. Now you’ll stop stealing mine when we get home.”

Ansell opened his mouth to say something then reconsidered and closed it with a snap. John noticed and chuckled. “Good idea, Sergeant. He’s worse than Teal’c in a bad mood.”

Jack had observed from just inside the door the entire time. “Okay kids, play later. We have places to be, people to see, things to blow up.”

Ronon’s head popped up. “What are we blowing up?”

John shook his head as he prodded Ronon out the door. “Nothing right now, but the trip is young. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of opportunities.”

Jack steered them past his office. Even though he spent most of his time in Washington, he still kept an office in the Mountain. He bade John follow him as he ducked in and shut the door then went to his safe and pulled out a laptop and an envelope. “This is yours, John. I need you to memorize the passcode while you’re here. You can change it later which I recommend.”

John opened the envelope, scanned the sequence, closed his eyes for a moment then dropped the envelope and its contents in the shredder.

Jack’s eyes grew wide. “Did you memorize that with one look?”

“I did.”

Jack shook his head in disbelief. “You’re gonna have to prove that one, son.”

John opened the laptop and booted it up. When the lock screen came up, he entered the code. Jack stared as the desktop appeared. “Okay, you win.” John spotted a carrying case and slipped the laptop in then slung it onto his shoulder.

They exited Jack’s office and the older General stayed with them until they reached the garage where their ride waited. Jack shook John’s hand once again. “Be careful. I didn’t put all this effort into raising you for you to go and do something stupid.”

John gave cocky grin. “Yes, Dad.”

Jack took a swipe at him which John dodged. He looked over at Ronon and Teyla. “See if you can keep him out of trouble, will ya?”

Ronon nodded and Teyla smiled before she stepped forward to bid Jack farewell. “We shall endeavor to do so. However, I have found that to be nearly as difficult as keeping Torren away from chocolate pudding.”

“Hey!”

Ronon shoved John towards their ride. “Get in the vehicle, Sheppard.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone that has left a comment or a kudo. I am so thrilled by the response from all of you.
> 
> A big thank you for beta goes to kickstand75 and Alicesandra. You are both awesome!

John spent the flight from Peterson Air Force Base to Portland International Airport reviewing the privileges and duties of the shiny bomb O’Neill and the President dropped on him.

Teyla spent the flight trying out her phone, keeping his distractions to a minimum and in keeping a firm hand on Rodney and Ronon. Fortunately, the Air Force had put them on a Gulfstream G5 so the distractions were minimal. Ronon spent the trip eating anything he could while playing Plants vs. Zombies. Rodney buried his nose in his laptop, only surfacing to quiz the air crew about the allergens in the food or to almost politely demand more coffee.

When they disembarked from the plane they found a Marine officer waiting for them, his dark green uniform standing out from the ground crew. The officer spotted them and made his way over. He started to offer John a casual salute then spotted the twinkling stars on John’s shoulders and snapped into a more proper salute. “General Sheppard, Sir. Captain Clark Vincent at your service, Sir.”

John returned the salute with an amused air. “Captain Vincent, you our driver?”

Vincent nodded. “Yes, Sir.” He glanced at the movement going on around them. “Sir, may I suggest we adjourn to the lounge?” He pointed to one side at an enclosed area empty except for some couches, chairs and vending machines.

John gestured his acquiescence and the party moved out of the way of the service crew.

After they were all seated, Vincent continued. “I am your assigned driver while you are here in Portland. I am also to act as your attaché. Lieutenant General O’Neill was very explicit in his orders.”

John narrowed his eyes as he studied the younger man. “How much do you know?”

Vincent let out a deep breath. “I am a member of SG-16. I was home on leave when O’Neill called.”

“He pulled you off leave?” John reached for his phone. “I’ll fix that.”

Vincent shook his head. “He called for a recommendation for someone trustworthy. I volunteered.”

John shook his head as he stood, everyone following his lead. “Well, I hope you know what you’re getting into.”

The benefit of their conversation was that the plane had been unloaded. They quickly gathered their bags and headed out. Just as John was about to step outside, Vincent put an arm out to block him.

“Allow me to check the area, Sir.”

John looked at him, quirky smile in place. “What … are you my bodyguard too?”

“Yes Sir. As I said, General O’Neill was very explicit in his orders.”

“He doesn’t need bodyguards.” Ronon rumbled from John’s six. “He has us.”

Vincent audibly swallowed at the look on Ronon’s face. “Um, yes sir, but I have orders.”

John put a hand on the Captain’s shoulder. “Listen, just act natural. If you walk out and look around, it calls attention to us.” He gestured at their uniforms. “These attract enough attention. Let’s not add to it.”

Vincent was silent for a moment then nodded. “Yes Sir.”

“Good.” John peered up at the sky before he hefted his bag. It was a rare sunny spring day with only a few wispy clouds. “Lead the way.”

They followed Vincent to their vehicle, a black Chevy Tahoe. Once inside, John asked for their destination.

“I was told to take you to the Portland P.D.’s Major Crime unit to meet Detectives Griffin and Burkhardt.”

“Bzzzt! Nope, wrong answer.” John shook his head. “Take us to the hotel first. I want out of this get-up.”

Vincent opened his mouth to protest then quickly shut it. General Sheppard did say they were trying to be low-key, and the dress blues did stand out, especially when you sported as much chest candy as Sheppard had. “Yes Sir.”

Rodney buried his nose in his laptop once they were moving. Ronon, Teyla and John took the time to admire the scenery. John had never been to the Pacific Northwest and the contrast to the East Coast was nice.

John looked up as Captain Vincent pulled to a stop. He smiled as he realized that whoever had booked the hotel had decided to be cheap. They would be staying in a Holiday Inn Express. Stepping through the doors and taking in the décor, John didn’t feel any smarter. Maybe it only happened if you spent the night. The hotel wasn’t anything fancy, but it was nice enough that they didn’t stand out. The desk clerk barely looked up when John handed over the government credit card Jack had given him. He took the keys and they headed for their rooms. Teyla sat on the bed and frowned while John started taking his uniform off.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he pulled his BDU on. The only concession he made to being on Earth was that he attached a set of low visibility stars to the collar.

She sighed. “I guess I am spoiled to our comfortable bed at home. This bed is rather … firm.”

John sat on the end of it and bounced in place a few times. “Hotel standard. They use really firm mattresses because they get lots of use and most people are so tired that they don’t notice how hard the bed is. Better hotels, like the one from our honeymoon, use better bedding.” He leaned over and kissed her gently. “We could always re-enact part of that trip then we wouldn’t notice the bed.”

Teyla slid her arms up to encircle his neck. “Hmmm, that sounds like an excellent idea, General Sheppard.”

John wrapped his own around her as his lips moved in. “Your wish is my command, Mrs. Sheppard.” He pushed her back on the bed and their tongues met in an ancient dance for several moments before life intruded in the form of a knock at their door.

“Hurry up, you two.” Rodney’s voice carried through the door. “We don’t have time for you two to play tonsil hockey.”

John sighed as Teyla pulled back. They rested their foreheads against one another and took a deep breath. “Can I stun him, please?” He looked at Teyla with his second best puppy dog eyes. “I know Ronon brought his blaster.”

Teyla leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his full lips. “No. He is correct – we do not have the time right now to do as we wish, but there is always tonight.”

John’s eyes lit up and there was a spring in his step as he finished changing and they headed out.

Once John had changed, they were almost to the car when Rodney decided he needed a different jacket to put over his suit. When he went to get his other jacket, he decided that he needed a different outfit. He slipped on a long-sleeved Henley but dithered between khakis or cargo pants until John finally had Ronon grab him and hustle him to the car.

It was almost two hours later that John and his team were pulling out their identification for the desk sergeant when they noticed four officers struggling to bring in four rough looking men. Their clothes were in various states of disrepair and cleanliness. Rodney saw them and covered his mouth and nose in an attempt to block their pungent odor. John eyed them as the four kept jostling the officers and each other. They looked similar to each other with muscular frames, long faces etched with perpetual scowls, deep set eyes, and dark unkempt hair. Just as the outside doors closed, one of the four broke free and threw his escort into the wall. John caught a fleeting impression of pointed ears just before the first guy took a swing at him. The other three toughs broke loose and melee ensued. Rodney ducked under a counter as Teyla and Ronon entered the fray alongside John.

Two of the other officers were tossed through an interior window as two plainclothes officers entered the fight. One, a medium complected black officer moved to help Teyla. The other, a dark haired man with pale skin, assessed the situation then tackled the fourth guy who was about to grab John from behind.

John stomped on his opponent’s instep as he delivered an elbow strike to the gut then hooked his arm around the guy’s neck and flipped him to the floor. Ronon punched his several times, landed a two-hit set to the stomach then leapt up and delivered an overhead blow that sent his opponent crashing to the floor. Teyla tripped hers and the black officer dropped a knee into the guy’s kidney, leaving him writhing on the ground as more officers rush in to restrain him. The dark haired officer landed several hard body shots to his opponent, a few of those in the stomach, then grabbed his arm as the guy tried to rush past him, and twisted it up behind him and put his opponent on his knees.

The toughs were finally all restrained, hoisted to their feet, and re-cuffed. Just before they left the area, they glanced at the dark haired officer, and their eyes widened in surprise just before a brutish image overlaid their features. John rubbed his eyes to clear them, not sure that what he just saw was real but the image of furry jawlines, mouthfuls of sharp teeth with jutting canines and the deep set eyes radiating malice stayed with him. He lowered his hands to find the dark haired officer gazing at him thoughtfully. John leaned over to catch his breath and to ease a pulled muscle in his back. Without turning, he called out, “Come on out Rodney. The fight’s over.”

Rodney, having sensibly remained quiet during the scuffle, crawled out from beneath a desk and straightened his clothes. “I’m a scientist, Sheppard, not a soldier.”

Upon hearing the name Sheppard, the two plainclothes officers look at each other. The dark haired one stepped forward. “Colonel John Sheppard?”

John straightened with a wince. “Yep, only it’s General Sheppard now.”

The dark haired officer held out his hand in greeting. “Welcome to Portland, General Sheppard and thanks for your assistance. I’m Detective Nick Burkhardt and this is my partner, Detective Hank Griffin.”

At that moment another man, wearing a long coat and a nicely tailored suit, entered the room and stopped to survey the damage. He glanced over the down officers, making sure that everyone was alive and being cared for. “What happened here?”

“Mahoney, Simms, Hope and Lewis were bringing in the four men that were wanted for the break-in at Curiosities Rock and Gem Shop.” Hank said. “One of them broke loose, tossed Mahoney into the wall then all hell broke loose, Captain.”

Captain Sean Renard glanced at John and his team. “And who is this?”

Nick moved forward slightly. “Captain, this is General John Sheppard, Teyla Sheppard, Ronon Dex and Doctor Rodney McKay. They’re here about those mysterious deaths.” He turned back towards John. “General, this is Captain Sean Renard.”

The two leaders reached to shake hands. As their hands touched, John got another flash, this time of ugly, stringy, drawn flesh across Renard’s cheekbones and mouth. John had to force himself not to jerk his hand back at the sight of the empty, scarred eye socket. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head to clear it. He missed the questioning look between Renard and Nick.

Renard gestured towards the Major Crimes Unit. “This way, please. We have much to discuss.”

They passed through the squad and settled in a small conference room. Once everyone was settled, Renard scanned the assemblage. He knew that the current case was _wesen_ related, but there was something … different about it. “So, General Sheppard, what is the United States Air Force’s interest in this case?”

John leaned back in his chair, fingers laced across his stomach. “I can only tell you that it pertains to more than National Security until you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. McKay, do you have them printing yet?”

Rodney nodded. “They should be ready in about five minutes. Their printers are a bit slow. I had to reconfigure their network and their firewall was crap. My niece could do better.”

Renard, Nick and Hank just stared. “Well, thank you. I’m sure the City of Portland will appreciate your services.”

Rodney sniffed. “I’d redo their whole network if they could afford me.”

Wu chose that moment to stagger in bearing an armload of paper. He dropped the load on the table which shivered with the impact. “There are a lot of unhappy officers out there.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Someone booted all of them off the network in order to process this mountain.” He set a hand on top of the stack and looked at Rodney. “How many copies are here, anyway?”

John stood and dug down to the bottom of the first copy. “Three.”

Eyes bulged as John placed the first copy in front of Renard. The second went to Nick and the third went to Hank. He returned to his seat. “Soon as you gentlemen sign these, the sooner we can lay all the cards on the table.”

The three officers were silent as they worked their way through the stack of paper. Renard finished first followed by Nick. Renard and Nick exchanged a set of knowing looks. Renard gave Nick a bare nod.

John stood again. “Which way is the restroom?”

Nick stood, seeing his chance to get John alone. “I’ll show you. I need to get something from my desk.”

The two men walked out and headed down the hall at an easy pace. They detoured through the squad and stopped long enough for Nick to grab a couple of case folders and a sketchbook. When they reached the restroom, both men went in. While John took care of his needs, Nick leaned against a sink.

“So, General, I have a question to ask you.” Nick said.

“Detective, please call me John.” John turned and gave him a quirky grin over his shoulder. “We are going to be working together and ‘John’ draws less attention than ‘General’.”

Nick returned the grin. “Then please, call me Nick.”

“As I was saying, John, it might sound very strange but I need you to answer truthfully.”

“Oookaaay.”

Nick took a deep breath. “During the fight earlier, did you see anything … unusual?”

“How unusual?” John asked. “A guy throwing another guy against a wall isn’t unusual for me. Why don’t you tell me what you think I saw?”

“Faces with fur-covered jaws, deep eyes filled with malice, blunt muzzles, long canines, pointed and furred ears, long fingers tipped with jagged, dirty nails.”

“Let’s just suppose that I might have seen something that looked like that.” John finished and headed towards a sink. “If I had seen them, what would I have seen?”

Nick nodded as John washed his hands and face. “They were _schakalen_ , jackal _wesen_. They’re thieves and bullies.”

John’s head jerked up. “What the hell is a _wesen_?”

“A _wesen_ is a person with a beast inside. Some people talk about having a beast inside, but wesen actually do. They are the beings described by the Brothers Grimm. Did you see any other images or visions?”

“Renard.” John shuddered in remembrance. “His face … part of it looked melted and the missing eye …”

Nick was surprised. Renard had very good control. For John to have caught a glimpse of his _woge_ then the Captain must have been very irritated or surprised. “Captain Renard is part _hexenbiest_.”

“He’s part what-a-beast?”

“ _Hexenbiest_. They’re witches who specialize in potions and other powerful spells.”

John looked at him as he dried his hands. “Why tell me all this now and like this?”

“Because it pertains to the case.”

“Okay, why me? Why can I see this and no one else on my team did?”

Nick paused near the door. “My guess would be that you had a relative that was a Grimm.”

“A Grimm?” John’s eyebrows shot up and his chin tilted down in his best you’ve-gotta-be-kidding-me look.

Nick sighed. “Grimms are the police of the _wesen_. We hunt down _wesen_ that are preying on humans or are otherwise causing trouble.”

“So you’re telling me I’m a Grimm?”

Nick looked at him and let his senses reach out. “You feel like a Grimm, but it’s faint, like there’s something overshadowing it.”

John started at Nick’s revelation, but quickly regained his composure. It was probably the ATA gene that was overshadowing his Grimmness. “Well, I expect full disclosure later. My team and I need to know what we’re going to be hunting.”

Nick opened the door. “My partner knows and I have some friends that will be glad to help.”

Back in the conference room, they discovered Hank had finally finished with the Non-Disclosure Agreement and that food had been delivered.

Renard looked up and gestured at the side table of food. “I have a feeling that we’re going to be here awhile.”

John noticed a plate on the table in front of his chair and headed that way. A cold can of Coke sat beside it. He smiled at Teyla as he regained his seat. “We will.” He took a bite, chewed and swallowed. “We’ve got a lot of information to go over and not a lot of time.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting but RL has been a bitch lately. Thanks to all of you for the bookmarks and kudos. Love you all!  
> Special thanks to Kickstand75 and Alicesandra for their beta skills and to Sulien for the local perspective.  
> With this chapter I have changed the rating as things are probably gonna start getting messy.

It was late when they finally finished. Captain Vincent had called three hours ago to tell him that a situation had come up with some visiting bigwig from Washington and he was needed for security. Jack had okayed it, as he knew John and his team were very capable of looking out for themselves.

Knowing they were going to have outside help, Nick had signed out a black Tahoe from the motor pool. Hank drove and pulled up in front of the hotel John had directed him to. “They booked you in this place? I thought the Air Force treated visiting Generals better.”

John gave him a lopsided smile. “They do, but I was still a Colonel when the reservation was made.” He climbed out and shut the door.

Nick leaned out his window. “Call us when you’re up and we’ll come get you.”

John held up his iPhone. “Gotcha. I’ve got your number.” He headed after his team and waved without looking back.

They were almost to the elevator when the manager stepped over to them. “General Sheppard, I’m afraid there’s been a problem.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hank and Nick rode in silence for a few minutes before Hank broke it. “Man, can you believe that? Traveling to other worlds through big metal rings made by aliens, meeting aliens, and fighting other aliens?”

Nick shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t seem that strange to me after dealing with so many _wesen_ the last few years.”

Hank grimaced, remembering his freak out when he found out about _wesen_ and Grimms.

“Teyla and Ronon are aliens.”

Hank turned and stared at his partner. It was Nick’s frantic gestures forward that yanked Hank back to his driving and he turned the wheel sharply, narrowly missing a slow-moving car. “Nick! What the hell, man? You can’t just blurt out shit like that while I’m driving!”

Nick looked sheepish. “Sorry, Hank. They didn’t say, but it was the way Sheppard explained certain things.” He would have said more, but his phone rang.

Hank glanced over but couldn’t see the caller ID. “Juliette?”

Nick shook his head as he looked at the screen on his iPhone. “Nope, it’s Sheppard.” He swiped the screen and answered the call. He greeted Sheppard and they conversed for a few minutes before hanging up. “We need to turn around.”

Hank worked his way across traffic and pulled a U-turn. “What happened?”

“Well, it seems the hotel had a couple of guests that felt the urge to cook in their room. While their meal was cooking, they decided to have … um … dessert first and forgot about the food until the skillet caught on fire. It didn’t damage the hotel badly, but the room where it happened was right down the hall from those belonging to Sheppard and his team. Their rooms are uninhabitable from the smoke. They’re lucky they weren’t in them at the time. They were able to retrieve their luggage though. To make matters worse, the hotel doesn’t have enough empty rooms for the displaced guests.”

Hank looked at the dash clock and noted that it was almost 8 pm. “Kinda late to find another hotel.”

“Yeah, that’s my thought too, so we’re going to pick them up and take them to my house.”

Hank nodded as he worked his way through traffic. “Weren’t Monroe and Rosalee coming over for a late dinner?”

“Yes, they are. It will be alright.” Nick stared into the distance for a moment. “Sheppard is part Grimm.”

“Great.” Hank rolled his eyes. “Just what we need.”

“With Monroe and Rosalee there, we can give him and his team the full run-down. I left out a lot this afternoon.”

“I think Sheppard knew it, but he chose not to call you on it. He’s very cautious. He probably left some stuff out too.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Monroe and Juliette were in the kitchen fixing dinner while Rosalee set the table. She glanced over and noticed that they had made too much again. At least it was cheese ravioli with marinara sauce tonight. Juliette’s homemade ravioli were easy to reheat and often better the second time around. She looked down at her watch and noticed it was 8:30. Nick had called when they left the station and said they were on their way home after they dropped off some visitors. Ten minutes later she heard a vehicle pull up and car doors open and shut. She headed for the door when Monroe stuck his head out of the kitchen.

“Man, that smells awful.” Monroe snorted to clear his sinuses. “Nick is not sitting down to eat until he showers.”

Rosalee neared the door, listened and called back. “Nick and Hank aren’t alone. Monroe, you better put more plates on the table.”

“How many?”

Rosalee closed her eyes to concentrate on the noises from outside. “We need four more.” Hearing the footsteps on the concrete walkway, she opened the door. Nick was first in and behind him were four strangers with Hank bringing up the rear. She observed them as they filed past her, her senses cataloguing each of them. The first was a petite woman about her own height, well-muscled and with the air of someone who could go from loving wife to hardened warrior in a blink. Second was a taller man, pale skinned with a receding hairline that smelled of electronics and coffee, nervous energy crackling around him. The fourth was taller than the rest with a wild mane of dreadlocks and roving eyes that saw everything. It was the third person that drew her attention the most. He was Nick’s height with untamable dark brown hair and hazel eyes. His sharp gaze reminded her of a hunting falcon, seeing everything without giving anything away.

Nick stepped up as Hank shut the door and locked it. Overcome with curiosity, Monroe and Juliette entered from the kitchen. “Everyone, this is General John Sheppard, his wife Teyla Emmagan Sheppard, Doctor Rodney McKay and Specialist Ronon Dex. They were sent by the Air Force to assist with our latest case.” Each nodded in greeting as Nick pointed them out. “This is Monroe, his girlfriend Rosalee Calvert, and my fiancée Juliette Silverton.”

Monroe wrinkled his nose and sneezed. “I’m sorry and don’t mean to be rude, but you two,” and he pointed at John and Ronon, “need to shower before we eat.”

John rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, we were planning to anyway. We’ll all need some clean clothes too.” He gestured towards their suitcases. “Everything in those is gonna need to be washed. I think the only thing that survived is my dress blues and that’s only because I zipped the garment bag shut. The rest of the bags were open.”

Juliette looked over at Nick. “Nick, why don’t you show the General and…”

John interrupted her with his second best charming smile. “Please, call me John.”

Juliette colored at John’s attempt at charm. “Alright, Nick, please show John and Ronon to the bathrooms while I start the laundry and Rosalee hunts out some clothes." Rosalee headed for the bedrooms as Juliette picked up the suitcases. “Hank, grab those and bring them, would you?”

“I shall assist you, if you do not mind.”

Juliette took in the other woman’s body language. She seemed very sincere and her accent was very exotic. She wondered briefly where Teyla was from. “Sure, come on. I can use some knowledgeable help.” She rolled her eyes and leaned in towards Teyla. “Men can be so useless sometimes.”

Teyla smiled and leaned in as well. “Some of them, yes. John is very handy at many things.”

The two women, Hank trailing behind, headed for the laundry room bonding as they went.

Monroe hovered in the doorway to the kitchen. He wanted to talk to Rosalee about the … odd feeling he was getting from John, but someone had to finish dinner. Rosalee caught his eye and nodded before cutting her eyes towards John’s retreating form. She mouthed one word in question to which he nodded agreement. She had caught it too. He had a feeling that the talk after dinner was going to be … interesting.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John took his time and reveled in the hot shower. He was used to showering in barracks or locker rooms, but he hated showering in hotel rooms. He’d never been able to explain it. Maybe it was because, for all their coarseness, barracks had a lived-in feel. Hotels always felt soulless and cold. Now this bathroom felt nice and homey. You could tell it was lived in. And he definitely appreciated the herb-scented soap and shampoo. The stuff cut the odor from the fiasco at the hotel quicker than anything else he’d ever used. He’d have to find out where they got it and get some for him and Teyla.

John shut off the water, pulled back the curtain and came face to face with Rosalee and an armload of clothes. He quickly snatched a towel as she averted her eyes. “I‘m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”

Rosalee shook her head. “No, I should apologize. I knew you were in the shower and probably hadn’t heard the door open. I should have knocked or called out.”

John gave her a crooked grin as she turned back to face him. “Hey, no harm done.” He gestured with his chin to the clothes she was still holding. “Are those for me?”

“Oh, um … yes, yes these are for you.” Rosalee stammered out as she took in the sight of him. Even if she hadn’t known he was military, the scars that were visible on his arms, shoulders and lightly furred chest would have spoken up for him. “These are some of Nick’s. I figured they would fit since the two of you are the same height although I think he’s a bit broader in the shoulders and you’ve a longer torso.”

John smiled at her. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

Rosalee blushed as she set the clothes down on the closed toilet seat. “Um … I’ll … just leave these here.” She backed away and fled in embarrassment.

“Thank you.” John called out as the door closed behind her. Hopefully she heard him.

Dressed and clean, John joined everyone in the dining room of the old Victorian house. Ronon had just barely beaten him to the table. Teyla and Rodney had also taken the time to clean up. Nick and Hank were already seated at the table along with the rest of his team so John joined them. Spotting a bundle of herbs hanging near the stove reminded John of the soap. “I know this might sound weird, but where do you get your soap? That stuff was great and I’d like to get some to take home.”

Nick smiled at the mundane question.  “A friend of Rosalee’s makes it. She has a shop out near Canon Beach. We can take a drive out there after this case is over and get you a few bars.”

“Will she sell a case full? We don’t get stateside often.”

Rosalee nodded as she set the salad bowl on the table. “She makes it in small batches, but I’m sure she’d do a larger batch for you. She also does mail order.”

The rest of the conversation went in a similar fashion. John got the same kind of vibe from Monroe and Rosalee as he did from Renard, although no visuals yet, so he figured they were _wesen,_ as Nick had called them. He just didn’t know what type yet. He hadn’t said anything to the rest of his team yet as Nick had asked him to wait until they were in a private setting. He knew Rosalee and Monroe had figured out, or at least had a hunch as to what he was, but they were keeping their peace.

Monroe looked at the group and realized that there would be no leftovers. That was one thing he looked forward to when Juliette fixed her homemade ravioli was having them for lunch the next day. Watching Ronon and Rodney eat, he wondered why they hadn’t exploded yet.

Once dinner was over, Rodney disappeared into the living room and Monroe could hear the sound of keys tapping and Nick’s printer running. John and Juliette disappeared to the laundry room to check on the clothes while Ronon and Teyla assisted with the cleanup.

Cleanup done and laundry loads changed over, everyone gathered in the living room where Rodney had already set up. There were three sheets of paper lying on the coffee table that they usually spread their research out on.

Rodney pointed at Juliette, Monroe and Rosalee. “You three need to read and sign those before we get started.”

Rosalee picked one up. “A Non-Disclosure Agreement? Why?”

“Because what we need to discuss concerns not just this city, state or country, but the entire planet.” John stated. “If I say anything more before you sign that, I will have to kill you.” The humor from dinner was gone from his voice

Juliette picked another up and scanned it. “Nick?”

Nick nodded. “Go ahead and sign. I’m presuming this is the short version since the ones we signed earlier were twenty pages each.”

Rodney waved a hand, intent on whatever he was working on. “I printed the short version because you don’t have a high speed printer. We’d be sitting here for 30 minutes waiting for the larger file to print.”

Once they signed and John had put the forms away, he booted up his laptop and turned it to face everyone.  “Okay, some of what I’m going to tell you Nick and Hank already know. Some of it they do not.”

The first picture up was of the SGC’s Stargate. “This is a Stargate. They were made by a race we call the Ancients. Here in the Milky Way, they placed Stargates on habitable worlds and seeded them with life. Travel is accomplished by using a device called a DHD to dial the address of the Gate you wish to travel to. Once a connection is formed between two Gates, a stable wormhole is formed. You can literally lift your foot on one planet and set it down on another as travel time is nearly instantaneous.” Rodney _hmphed_ from his end of the couch. “If you want the in-depth science, Rodney will happily explain it to you until your ears bleed.”

Juliette leaned forward and hesitantly raised a finger. “Um, how long ago did this happen?”

“Tens of thousands of years ago.”

“Um, excuse me if this is kinda off track, but why have we never heard of these gates?”

“Well Monroe, that is because after the Ancients left this galaxy, another race moved in called the Goa’uld. They are a sentient, parasitic race that requires a host to survive. They found out that humans made the perfect hosts and decided to take over. The easiest way was to pose as Gods.”

Juliette suddenly sat up straight. “Oh my, that means that archaeologist, um … what was his name … was right.”

“Doctor Daniel Jackson?” John said with a straight face.

Juliette bounced in place. “Yes, that’s him. A friend persuaded me to attend one of his lectures many years ago. I found it interesting because it made you think, but a lot of people in the audience walked out.”

“Daniel was actually the one who translated the first Gate address for the SGC and was a member of the first team to travel to another planet.” At the questioning looks he was seeing, John added “and before you ask, SGC stands for Stargate Command. It is a multi-national venture.”

“Which explains why we have a General from the Air Force working with a Canadian astrophysicist.” Hank pointed out.

“The humans here eventually overthrew the bad aliens and they buried Earth’s Stargate. It was found in 1928, but only returned to service recently. Now, while the bad aliens were here, the Ancients were in the Pegasus Galaxy repeating what they did here, except instead of just seeding planets with plant and animal life, they also populated them with humans as well. In the process they discovered Ascension, which means they shed their corporeal bodies to become beings of pure energy.”

“Huh, that sounds pretty cool, huh, Nick?” Monroe said. “You could hunt bad guys without putting anyone at risk.”

Nick looked at John’s impassive expression. “Somehow, I don’t think it works like that.”

John shook his head. “No, it doesn’t, because the Ancients that Ascended adopted the Prime Directive.”

“Huh?” Monroe, Rosalee, and Juliette all looked confused.

Hank took pity on them. “It means they have a hands-off, no interference policy.”

 Monroe looked at John. “So what does this have to do with why you’re here?”

John took a deep breath before he plunged into the hard part. “In their quest for Ascension, the Ancients started experimenting to find out the quickest way to get there. Some tried to engineer devices which would speed up the process,” a grimace of remembered pain crossed John’s face, “while others tried genetic engineering. Unfortunately, one of their experiments created their downfall. Through the use of gene therapy, they created a species called the Wraith.” He bent to change the picture on his laptop to show an image of a Queen. “The Wraith live in hives and are led by a Queen.”

“Like bees.”

John nodded. “Exactly, Rosalee. The Queens guide the rest and are the meanest bitches ever. They can literally read your mind and find out everything you’ve ever known.”

“Unless you’re Sheppard.” Rodney looked up and chimed in. “He’s Public Enemy Number One amongst the Queens for his ability to resist their interrogation techniques.”

“Such resistance comes with a price though.” Teyla said. “It leaves John with a serious headache for days afterward.”

John rubbed the back of his neck as he drank some water then changed the image. “This is a male Wraith, called a Drone. They are the foot soldiers and workers of the hive and are the most common.” He flipped pictures again. “This is a Blade. They are the higher caste males of a hive. They are dangerous and intelligent, and we believe it is one of these that we are facing.”

Hank leaned forward. “Doesn’t look like much. We find it, put a few bullets in it and go home.”

“It’s not that simple.” Ronon spoke up from his corner. “Wraith regenerate. How fast depends on how well they’ve fed. There are only a few ways to truly kill a Wraith. Shoot it enough to turn the heart into mush, shoot it in the head or cut its head off.” He stepped forward into the light. “I prefer the third option best.”

Monroe raised a hand. “Okay, so if how well they eat is what helps them heal then we just find their food source.”

John and his entire team looked pained for a minute.

Monroe looked from one to the other. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

Teyla laid a hand on his arm. “WE are their food.”

Monroe stared at her for a moment. “What, like cut us up and eat us food?”

John locked gazes with Teyla for several moments. Finally he nodded, a resigned look on his face. He knelt and tapped several keys on his laptop then stood and walked outside.

Nick was confused. John hadn’t acted like this earlier. “Teyla, what’s going on?”

Teyla stood, her attention focused on the door that had just closed behind John. She glanced down at the laptop and the countdown on the screen. “You will understand after this video recording. We will be back once it’s over.” With that, she bowed to the company and hurried after John.

Monroe looked at Nick. “What the heck?”

Rosalee pointed at the screen. “I think we’re about to find out.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you that have commented or left kudos. My plot kitty enjoys reading your comments as much as I do. Thanks to Alicesandra for her beta on this one!  
> Warning: this chapter is kinda graphic and contains huge spoilers for Stargate: Atlantis episode "Common Ground".

Outside, John found a wooden bench under one of the trees and sat down, his forearms resting on his knees and hands dangling while he leaned forward, head drooping while he concentrated on his breathing. Teyla was a warm presence when she sat down by his side. She did not ask what was bothering him for she knew.

“It’s been almost six years and I still can’t watch that.” John’s voice was soft as his hand rose to his chest, to the scar he still bore.

“John, no one faults you for that. We are grateful you are still with us.” Teyla put her arm around him and held him until he leaned into her, his head resting on her shoulder.

He closed his eyes as he wrapped himself in her love. “Did I do the right thing by showing them that video?”

“Yes.” Teyla brushed her fingers through his hair. “This is the only way they shall truly understand what we face.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick could see the confusion in everyone as John and his wife left the room. He was about to question Rodney about their behavior when the video started. It showed a very grainy black and white image of a man in uniform with a heavily lined face. The man, identified as Commander Kolya, exchanged barbed pleasantries with someone off-screen, a woman named Dr. Weir. He suddenly shifted to reveal a man tied to a chair.

 “Is that … John?” Monroe breathed out as if afraid to be heard.

Nick watched as Weir requested to speak with John and Kolya agreed. As soon as his gag was removed, John yelled out an order that was cut short by a guard with a stun rod as another replaced the gag. After Weir refused to turn over some other guy, Kolya motioned off-camera and a group of soldiers herded a tall, thin figure wearing a long coat and manacles into view.  As the figure neared the camera, they could clearly see the long, stringy hair; grotesquely mottled skin and flattened features.

“That’s … a Wraith.”  Hank’s voice was soft.

“Yes, that’s a Wraith.” Rodney muttered curses in English. 

Ronon bared his teeth and snarled at the screen while his fingers caressed the hilt of his blaster which currently resided in a custom shoulder holster under his jacket.

After Weir once again refused the exchange, Kolya nodded to his men. They freed the figure and he immediately slammed his hand into John’s chest. Kolya watched impassively as John’s body writhed in agony, a scream escaping that even the gag couldn’t entirely muffle. At a signal from Kolya, the handlers hit the Wraith with the rod and forced him to release his deadly hold on John. They all gasped at his appearance. After just a few minutes, John had aged years.

“Damn!” Hank spat out a curse.

Juliette gagged and left the room unable to watch further. Hank and Rosalee toughed it out although they both turned a bit green, which, if Nick was honest with himself, was how he felt too. Watching someone that you knew scream in agony as the life was slowly sucked from their body was horrible.

The second time was even worse. Kolya repeated his demands while accusing Weir of prolonging John’s torture. Across the room, Rosalee gasped as John was dragged from the chair after the second feeding.

“Oh my god.” She uttered in disbelief. “That is just …”

Nick’s jaw was tight, his eyes hooded as he stared at the screensaver that had come up after the video ended. He turned and checked out John’s remaining teammates. Ronon appeared furious and Monroe had no doubt that he would gladly have torn the Wraith or Kolya or both into pieces bare-handed. Rodney was stone-faced and tight-jawed, but there was deep pain in his blue eyes.

Monroe stood and clapped his hands. “Any one need a drink, cause I sure do.”

Hank stood as well. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“Is it over?”

Juliette’s voice roused Nick from his contemplations. “Yeah, it’s over.”

Monroe passed her with Hank on his tail as they entered the kitchen.

“That poor man.” Juliette said. “That was the most awful thing I’ve ever seen and that includes you being zombified.”

Silently, Monroe agreed. As a blutbad, he was a predator with a predator’s tastes and sensibilities, but to find out that another species thought of you as food was incredibly disconcerting.

“Should someone go check on him?” Rosalee’s voice held concern. That was one of the things that attracted Monroe to her.

“His wife is with him.” Nick’s deep voice carried into the kitchen clearly. “I’m sure if there’s a problem that she’ll let us know.”

Monroe handed Hank some of the drinks and they headed back to the outer room. Hank drained his in short order and went back for seconds while Nick barely touched his.

Monroe took a swallow of his then peered towards Rodney and Ronon. “Um, I’m sorry if this is kinda none of our business, but after suffering through that … torture, how is he …?”

“Young?” Rodney asked.

“Yeah, and sane.”

Rodney let out a bark of laughter.  “Sheppard made friends with the Wraith. After the third feeding, which you may have noticed that Todd cut short, they escaped. We had just arrived on the planet and were close to their position when we heard John let out a yell. When we got to him, John was young and healthy again. Todd called it the Gift of Life. He told us it was reserved for their worshippers … and their brothers. He then informed us that there was much we did not know about the Wraith.”

Ronon rumbled out. “I would have shot it but Sheppard wouldn’t let me.”

 “Man, is it me or is that a weird name for an alien?” Monroe quipped.

“Sheppard gave … it … that name. We don’t know what its Wraith name is.” Rodney answered softly. “He has a habit of naming pretty much everything and everyone we come across.”

They were each lost in their thoughts when the back door opened and John and Teyla returned.

John was pale as he took a seat on the sofa. Teyla sat on his left, so close there wasn’t room for a piece of paper between them. Ronon took up a position behind John, feet spread and arms crossed. Rodney dropped down on John’s right, close enough to comfort or protect, but not too close.

John looked at each of them, catching their gazes with his own. When it came his turn, Monroe felt that John was reading his very soul.

“So, you’ve all seen …?” John asked. At their affirmatives and nods, he continued. “That is what we are here to stop.”

Monroe couldn’t stop himself. “You mean there’s one of those loose in the city?”

“It sure looks like it. We just gotta find it.”

“It’s not the only problem.”

All eyes turned to Nick.

“There’s another perpetrator as well.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick was thinking hard. Even grainy, the feeding mark from the Wraith had been unmistakable. It definitely matched some of the marks from the victims’ bodies. It was similar to the other mark, but the bodies were different. The raw handprint had been found on the desiccated bodies while the black brand was found on the normal looking bodies.

After he made his announcement, he stood and looked at John and his team. “Would any of you like a drink?”

Teyla shook her head, but Ronon and Rodney both said beer. John looked up and the pain was evident in his eyes.

“Sure, if you’ve got something stronger than beer.”

Monroe was already headed for the kitchen as Nick answered. “Sure, we’ve got whiskey, bourbon, scotch …”

“I’ll take a scotch, neat, and make it a double, thanks.”

Nick caught Teyla’s frown as she looked at John then Ronon. He decided that everyone needed a distraction and he had a doozy for them. “Okay, you shared with us so now it’s time to share with you. The other perpetrator is a _wesen_.”

Rodney looked up with wide blue eyes. “What the hell is a _wesen_?”

Nick and John shared a grin as Rodney uttered the exact same words John had several hours earlier. He gave them the same explanation he’d given John earlier.

Rodney shot a look of disbelief at John. “Sheppard, don’t tell me you believe this?”

John drank half of his scotch. “Yes, Rodney, I do, because I’ve seen them.”

“You’ve seen them.” Rodney’s voice was a clipped monotone. “And you chose not to say anything to us, your team.”

Teyla leaned forward. “Rodney, please.”

John dipped his chin and gave him one of his special looks. “I didn’t say anything ‘cause Nick asked me not to.”

Rodney turned his glare onto Nick. “So, what did you tell an Air Force Colonel …?”

“General,” John interrupted.

Rodney huffed at the interruption. “So what did you tell an Air Force General that convinced him to believe this?”

“I told him that he’s a Grimm.” Nick then explained Grimms for John’s team.

“I have a question.” Ronon’s deep voice ground through the air.

Nick nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

“What do these … _wesen_ … look like?”

Nick was at a loss. How to describe a _blutbad_ or a _fuchsbau_ to someone that didn’t know what a wolf or fox looked like. Fortunately, Monroe and Rosalee took the problem out of his hands.

 Monroe wiped his hands on his pants as he traded looks with Rosalee. Just as when they introduced _wesen_ to Juliette, she decided to go first.

“I am a _wesen_. Specifically, I am a _fuchsbau_ or fox person.”

Nick didn’t blame her for not using the German meaning, which was “fox burrow”. He watched as she did the first stage _woge_ , which only a Grimm or another _wesen_ could see. He watched as John leaned forward to peer closer at Rosalee. She was pretty as a human, and that beauty carried over to her changed form. Rodney stood to move closer. John’s team were watching him and Rosalee closely, trying to see what he could see.

“None of you saw anything?’ Nick asked of Teyla, Ronon and Rodney. A chorus of no’s greeted him in answer. “What you didn’t see was her woge or transformation. It is usually brought on by stress or an adrenaline surge. Then there is the second stage, which is visible to everyone.” He nodded at Rosalee and she did that odd little head twist then a fox woman was standing before them.

“Eeeeeek,” Rodney screeched and scrambled to hide behind Ronon.

Rosalee looked pained.

“Sweet,” John kept his cool and remained in his seat. His team would take their cues from his behavior. Besides, seeing a woman change into a fox was not the weirdest thing he’d seen. Also, while she was kinda cute in both forms, she was not at Teyla’s level.

Ronon’s hand drifted towards his blaster but stopped when he realized that John hadn’t moved. If she was dangerous, he knew John would not be sitting calmly.

Teyla startled at the sudden shift then stood and approached the other woman. “May I?” Rosalee nodded and Teyla reached out and touched her cheek. “Your fur is very soft.”

Rosalee smiled. “Thank you.” She shifted back and regained her seat.

John looked at Monroe. “From your actions, I take it you’re a _wesen_ too?”

“I am.”

“What are you?’ John asked with a lot of curiosity.

“A _blutbad_.” Monroe ducked his head and _woged_.

John flinched momentarily at the fearsome visage before him then gathered his wits and leaned forward. “Cool. You could make a mint on Halloween.” Monroe was a predator, but John could still see the man beneath the wolf. “Hold up before you do the second stage.” He shifted on the sofa to face Ronon. “Chewie, you trust me, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then take it easy and don’t do anything we’ll regret, okay?”

Ronon grunted his agreement.

“Thank you.” He turned towards a wide-eyed Monroe. “Ok, go ahead.”

Monroe shifted the second time.

John shot a meaningful stare at Ronon as he took a better look at Monroe. The thick eyebrows, hint of a muzzle, elongated face, long teeth and claws reminded him of a wolf.

Ronon growled but stayed his hand.

Teyla flinched away before she reasserted her calm.

Rodney let out a high-pitched scream that would have been at home at a Justin Bieber concert then fainted.

John shook his head at his team. He could feel Teyla’s indecision at what she was seeing. Ronon was a grumbling mountain behind him and Rodney was ... well, Rodney.

“It’s still Monroe.” Nick said. “Still the same guy that traded pop culture with you over dinner and poured the wine.”

Hank leaned forward and picked up his drink. “Scared the crap out of me the first time I saw that.”

Teyla’s curiosity grabbed hold. “There are others like you?”

“There are lots of different _wesen_ species.” Nick said. “Some good, some bad. That’s where the Grimms come in. We stop the bad ones – permanently.”

“Shouldn’t we take care of him?” Juliette pointed at Rodney, who was still passed out on the floor.

“He’ll be fine.” John glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Ronon. Ronon grinned, grabbed a glass of water and slowly poured it on Rodney’s face.

“Mmmf.” _groan … splut … cough … cough_ “What the hell! What are you doing, trying to drown me?”

“Are you alright, Rodney?” Teyla soothed as she helped him up.

Rodney ran a hand over his face to dry it off. “I will be soon as Conan quits trying to kill me. What happened?”

John’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “You fainted.”

“I … I did not! My hypoglycemia must be acting up!” Rodney rubbed his stomach. “I passed out from manly hunger.”

Monroe stood and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll get you a sandwich.”

“Better make that two, no three. I think I’m very hungry.”

Monroe cast a glance over his shoulder. The only people he knew that could put as much food away as the scientist had been eisbiebers.

John drained his glass and turned it in his hands as the gears in his brain turned. “We need more information. We don’t even know if our Wraith and your … whatever are working together.”

Monroe looked at Nick. “Yeah, do we know what kind of _wesen_ you’re hunting?”

Nick shook his head. “I was going to look through my ancestor’s journals after dinner; however, I think that we can wait until tomorrow. It’s late and I think a good night’s sleep will do us all good.”

On cue, John stifled a yawn. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Hank, Monroe and Rosalee bid them goodnight then left. Rodney whined about his back so Juliette gave him the guest bed upstairs. Ronon was happy with a sleeping bag atop a foam pad. Teyla and John had a queen size air mattress placed in the den.

Teyla eyed John as she prepared for bed. Ever since he had shown the video to Nick and the others, he had been quiet. With gentle mental fingers, she reached out and touched his mind. She found the images of his captivity and torture spiraling through his thoughts. _*“John, you are safe. Kolya is long dead, you made sure of that. I know that I cannot erase your memories of the pain he put you through, but you cannot let it eat you.”*_ She glided across the floor and wrapped her arms around him where he sat looking out into the night. _*“Let them go. Release your grip on the memories and they will release their grip on you.”*_

John bowed his head. _*“I’m trying. It’s better than it was. It just hit me hard coming on top of everything else.”*_

 _*“We shall work on it more.”*_ She tugged on his hand as she stood. “Now come, I believe we were interrupted earlier today and we need to sleep … eventually.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Firesmoke peered through the dim sunlight towards the formation where the witch had told him they were headed. The salt spray striking his face stung, but it was of no consequence. The human said she had a plan to satisfy both of them. If her plan worked, both of them would feed well. After all, to feel hunger was abhorrent, especially for a Wraith.

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay. My plot kitty has been stubborn lately.   
> Thanks to Kickstand75 and Alicesandra for their awesome beta on this story. You gals rock!   
> My thanks to all if you that have commented, left kudos and bookmarked this. I appreciate you all!
> 
> Enjoy!

AN: Grand Central is an actual chain in Portland that supports the show. It's a bakery/restaurant. They serve sandwiches, soups, salads and fresh baked goods that you can buy.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John stirred at the sound of creaking boards as someone came down the stairs. He carefully slipped from the bed without waking her and crept through the house. Perhaps it was Nick and he'd gotten a lead. He entered the living room and found he was half right. It was Nick, dressed in sweats. "Going for a run?"

Nick spun, reaching for a hidden gun before he realized who'd spoken then colored with embarrassment. "Sorry about that. Force of habit."

John leaned against the doorway. "I understand."

"Yeah, I guess you would. To answer your question, yes. I like to run in the mornings. Helps clear the head."

"I do too. Ronon and I usually run about five miles. Isn't that right, Chewie?"

A snort sounded from behind him.

"Well, you're welcome to join me. I can loan you some sweats."

"Sounds great."

Nick disappeared for a moment and came back with a pair of grey sweat pants and a Portland PD sweat shirt. Teyla walked in just as John finished changing.

John went to his wife and kissed her. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. I rolled over and you were not there so I came to see what you are doing."

"We're going for a run."

"You may wish to take these." She held out his gun and his phone.

Nick handed him a small fanny pack which John put on before placing his gun and phone inside.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick felt like he was leading a parade. Hank jogged with him on occasion, but it had been awhile since he'd had two running partners. He started off slow and planned to go easy on John and Ronon until he noticed how little effort they were putting into keeping pace with him. He went slower when Hank ran with him because his partner couldn't match the increased endurance he'd gained as part of his Grimm abilities. Able to cut loose for the first time in recent memory, he surrendered to the joy of it and increased his pace.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John smiled as they started their third lap. The number of women who found the urge to be outside with their dogs or watering their lawns had grown. He'd have to ask Nick if he always had this many admirers on his morning runs.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John was in the midst of making breakfast when Nick walked in. Teyla made the toast while John tended the ham slices and scrambled the eggs.

"Any news?" John asked as he added cheddar cheese to the eggs.

"No, nothing yet."

The smell of food drew Ronon in. John knew he was there without anything being said. "Hey, Chewie, would you go tell Rodney breakfast is ready?"

"Sure. Surprised he isn't here already. McKay sniffs out food like a sharpa with cubs."

John could hear Nick fidgeting at the table behind him. "What's on your mind?"

"You. You just accepted all this without batting an eye. I think I spent the first week freaked out when I found out I was a Grimm."

One side of John's mouth turned up in a crooked smile. "Believe me, this is nothing. Now bugs, those freak me out."

"Bugs? You're kidding, right?"

"No, John is very serious about that. One native to the Pegasus Galaxy almost killed him twice." Teyla said as she put plates on the table. "Since then he has had a dislike of large insects."

A shiver ran down John's back at the memory. He hurriedly changed the subject. "I've been meaning to ask, how do you become a Grimm?"

"My Aunt Marie told me it's inherited. It's usually only one per generation, but not always as both my mother and my aunt were both Grimms. The next generation's abilities start to appear when the current Grimm is near death or dead. Mine appeared when my Aunt came to tell me she was dying of cancer. She passed a short time later."

A flutter of panic invaded John's stomach. "Does it follow direct family lines?"

"No. It can go parent to child, aunt to nephew, even to distant relations. It has been known to skip an older sibling and go to a younger and even entire generations. There's no real pattern except that the heir has the right mentality to cope with it."

Thumping announced the return of Ronon and Rodney with Rodney wearing a robe and pajamas. Small talk crossed the table as they ate. Nick's phone rang as they finished eating.

"It's Hank. I'll take it in the other room."

John and Teyla cleaned the kitchen. Ronon sat at the table sharpening some of his knives. Rodney had disappeared muttering about searching the Ancient database for mention of the Grimms.

Nick returned, looking rather grim. "A witness reported seeing four women being herded into a van by two guys. The description the caller gave was '... one appeared to be a bad impersonation of Marilyn Manson with long white hair and a long black coat'. The other was described as having grey hair, skin and clothing."

John grimaced. "The first part definitely describes a Wraith. Any ideas on the second?"

"No, and we're not going to have time to go to the trailer."

"I'll go get Rodney. Be right back." John climbed the stairs, careful to make no sounds. Stopping by the partially open door, John peered inside. Rodney was sitting in the floor, coffee in one hand while he worked on his tablet.

John tapped on the door frame then poked his head through the door. Rodney didn't even glance up so John shifted to Plan B. He took a deep breath then called out "Heeerrreee's ... Johnny!"

John smirked at the sight before him. Rodney was seated on the floor, tablet in his lap and swiping ineffectively at the coffee now decorating the front of his striped pajamas.

"Dammit, Sheppard! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

"No, but you know we're here to stop a Wraith. That means be ready to move on a moment's notice. Get dressed. Nick got a report of two guys matching our targets abducting four women."

"But I haven't had my third cup of coffee yet." Rodney whined as he stood and started grabbing clothes.

John's expression and tone hardened. "You should have thought of that an hour ago. Now move it, McKay."

John smirked as he closed the door, shutting off Rodney's thuds and grumbles.

Nick peered over as he descended. "Is he alright?"

John cocked a thumb over his shoulder. "Rodney? He's fine, just grumpy because he spilled his coffee."

"Well, while he gets ready, let me make a call and see if I can find out anything."

John sat down while Nick pulled out his phone and wandered out of the room. Teyla came over and sat beside him and John wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"How are you feeling, John?"

"Better. I don't know why, but sleeping next to you always makes me feel safe."

"It is because I am as much of a warrior as you are. We watch each other's backs and protect one another."

"That sounds about right." John rested his head on the sofa and turned it just enough to look at his wife. "That's one of the first things I noticed about you. I got this feeling from you that said 'here's a woman that can kick ass and won't sit around waiting to be rescued."

Teyla smiled. "No, I often end up rescuing you."

John leaned forward and rubbed the back of his neck. "True, but it's usually not my fault."

Teyla leaned in and John lowered his head to hers, his lips brushing hers gently.

They parted as Nick came back in.

"Oh, did I interrupt?"

Teyla smiled. "No, it is fine."

John slouched down on the sofa in his deceptive sprawl. "Did you find out anything?"

"Yeah. I called Monroe and Rosalee. From the description, they said it might be a bösewicht."

"Why didn't they say that last night? It would have saved lots of trouble." Rodney's snark knob was on high. "And what the heck is a booswick?"

John sat up and shot the astrophysicist a glare. "Rodney. They couldn't say anything because we didn't have a description last night."

"Bösewicht is German for evildoer." Nick replied calmly. "It refers to an undead creature that still has part of its soul trapped in its decaying flesh. The English equivalent is a barrow wight or a wraith."

"Figures, more wraith." Rodney slumped on the nearest chair. "We come six billion miles to take out one wraith and get double trouble as a reward." He looked over at John. "Remind me to tell O'Neill that the SGC's Rewards card sucks."

John had trouble keeping a straight face as he stood and grabbed his leather jacket. "Ronon, you ready?" Muffled snickers from Nick's direction told of his fellow Grimm having just as much problem holding in his laughter.

"Yep."

"Let's move out."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hilda drove the van into a deserted warehouse not far from the interstate. It would make an excellent location in which to feast. It had been a very long time since she had eaten to satiation. Regular food sustained her body, but the life force from the young women kept her young and beautiful. The wraith, Firesmoke, also needed to eat its fill. She pulled in and her servant climbed slowly from the back of the van and shut the door.

The four women huddled against the interior wall that separated the front from the back staring at Firesmoke. The Wraith had filled out after a good feeding, its long white hair falling in a shimmering curtain to its waist. Firesmoke reached forward with his left hand and grabbed the first of the four women, a stocky blond who struggled to get away from a grip less yielding than steel. Using his right hand, he snatched the second blond and flung her from the van. Her squeal of surprise cut off only to be replaced by a sob of despair. Hearing the second girl's misery as her life was pulled from her, Firesmoke bared a mouthful of teeth that would make a piranha jealous as he pulled his right hand back equal to his shoulder before slamming it into his victim's chest. Her cry of anguish as he fed was music to the Wraith's ears. It also served to cause the other girls to sink even deeper into the pits of despair and fear.

Even though Firesmoke took his time, the first morsel was soon drained. He watched as the wight was feeding its victim's life to the human witch. This time, instead of merely taking the first tidbit at hand, Firesmoke decided to let the humans wait and wonder. The time spent as they wondered which would be his next meal would make their fear even more satisfying.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hank parked the Tahoe in front of their favorite branch of Grand Central Baking Company, a local restaurant chain, and everyone got out. Nick moved over to John and held him back.

"Don't take your sunglasses off." Nick murmured

John was confused. "Huh?"

"This location is staffed by wesen. The first time I walked in here after my inheritance kicked in I almost started a riot. It was a good thing that I had Monroe and Bud along to vouch for me or it would have been a really bad day."

John peered over the rim of his glasses. "So what does that have to do with not taking my glasses off?"

"Wesen can tell a Grimm by looking at our eyes. Our eyes appear black when they woge. Rosalee said it's like looking into a bottomless pit and having your own reflection stare back at you. I had to wear sunglasses at their wedding so the guests wouldn't freak out. Anyone that questioned it was told I suffered from a medical condition that made me light sensitive. I did get a few odd looks when it came time to take pictures."

"Why didn't you just not go?"

"Monroe wanted me to be his best man because I brought them together. After I said yes, I kept having nightmares that one of the guests realized I was a Grimm and attacked me. That set off more of them and by the time it was over, I had killed over half the guests."

"I would think that the wesen would welcome us, or at least tolerate us like people do cops."

"To most wesen, Grimms are the bogeyman. There was a time when a Grimm would kill any wesen they came across. We're what their parents scared them with to make them behave."

John grimaced. "Okay, the sunglasses stay on."

The two Grimms entered the restaurant and placed their orders. Ronon and Rodney had full trays while everyone else had opted for breakfast sandwiches that could be eaten on the move. The patrons and staff in the restaurant kept eying them and John thought it was due to his glasses then he realized that it was due to the prodigious amount of food his two teammates were putting away. He and Teyla were used to their eating habits and Hank and Nick had been introduced to the food vacuums in human guise at dinner last night. To anyone else they probably appeared to be binge eaters.

Everything was going well and no one had questioned why John had his aviators on. It helped that they had chosen to sit near the windows in a sunny spot. That, of course, drew the attention of Murphy and his damn laws.

John had just stepped out of the restroom when he was knocked backwards into a corner of the short hallway. The knock was hard enough to cause his aviators to fall from their secure perch. The person that had bumped into him muttered a deep 'excuse me' then bent to pick John's glasses up. The owner of the voice appeared to be a few inches taller than John with wide shoulders and a muscular physique.

"Um, thanks." John said as he reached for his sunglasses.

"You're wel... a Grimm!" The yell was followed by a punch that John only partially blocked. Another punch flew at him from a different angle and John realized he had at least two attackers.

“Hey guys, let’s talk this over,” John said and held his hands out in a non-aggressive gesture.

“You won’t get us, Grimm!” The second attacker said as he swung.

John skimmed under the second punch then lashed out with a split combination that landed hits on both opponents. He turned to deliver a series of hammer blows into the solar plexus of his first attacker and mule kicked the second through the restroom door.

Not wanting to kill anyone, John opted for a quick takedown. He telegraphed a roundhouse punch which made his opponent duck and John used the feint to snake his right arm beneath the guy's chin while wrapping his left hand in his shoulder length mane of hair. Clasping his left arm with his right hand, John tightened his choke hold. His opponent started thrashing and John felt a sharp claw brush the top of his left ear. John ducked his head into the guy's neck and held on. After only a short time, the guy's struggles slowed then stopped. He released his hold and dropped his now unconscious assailant on the floor. He wondered where the second was. At that moment, the restroom door burst open and the second man flew through. He impacted John's chest and knocked him into the wall hard enough that John saw stars. John shook his head to clear it and glanced up as a deep growl rumbled in the hall.

Ah crap.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick was getting worried. John had excused himself and headed to the men's room over ten minutes ago. Unless he was sick, he should have been back by now. He noticed Ronon kept shooting glances the direction John had headed. Nick stood and cocked a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm going to check on John."

At that precise moment, a roar sounded from the area of the restrooms. Nick and Ronon looked at each other and said one word.

"Sheppard."

The roar was followed by a flying body as a brown figure flew into the main area. The object of their search staggered out right behind him, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. The first figure sprang to his feet to face John and brandished ten long claws at him. John snatched a broken broom from a nook at the entrance of the corridor and snapped it across his knee to make two serviceable stand-ins for a set of Bantos rods. Most of the patrons had fled at the roar; the rest scattered when the claws appeared.

Nick had his gun in his hand, but was hoping to not need to use it. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Ronon holding a strange looking pistol beneath his duster.

"Lucas!"

Nick watched a short, heavyset woman that he recognized as Mama Leone, the restaurant's owner, bustle up and plant herself squarely between John and his opponent. "Lucas, you stop this right now. This young man" and she pointed at John "came in here with Detective Burkhardt. He would not have brought another Grimm in here if they were going to start slaughtering us." Mama Leone advanced until she could poke Lucas in the chest. "Now pull yourself together and apologize. This kind of behavior makes all of us look bad."

Lucas closed his eyes, took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. His claws retracted and his leonine appearance faded. He shuffled his feet for a moment then winced when the older woman poked him again. "I'm sorry. I reacted to George's outburst. You had made no moves against us and I should have stayed my hand."

John hadn't twitched since taking a defensive stance. Nick let his senses flow outward. The area around John was charged and felt like a terrible storm was about to be unleashed. Nick glanced at John's face and stared in shock. His fellow Grimm's eyes, which were normally a warm hazel green, were now a cold, deep emerald green.

Teyla edged past him and Nick hadn't even realized she was there.

"John, be calm. It is over. Lucas has apologized." As she spoke, Teyla glided towards John until she could place her hands on his atop his improvised weapons. At her touch, John closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When he reopened his eyes, they had resumed their natural color.

"Lucas, where is George?"

Lucas pointed. George was on his hands and knees shaking his head and heaving deep breaths.

"Pick your brother up and take him in the back." Mama Leone turned towards the patrons and made a few scattering gestures with her hands. The diners warily resumed their seats and went back to their meals. "I would like to apologize as well. I raised both my boys better than that." She swept her gaze over John's lanky form then turned towards the food prep area. "Marion, get me an ice pack."

John straightened. "I'm fine, ma'am."

"Young man, that's bullshit and we both know it. I can smell the blood trickling down the back of your head from over here. Now get back to your table and have a seat so that lovely lady of yours can check you over."

Nick smiled as Teyla tugged John to the table and pushed him into his seat. Ronon took up guard position beside him. Marion hurried over with a tray that held the asked for ice pack, a small bowl of water and some clean rags. She gave John a timid smile before she scurried off.

Teyla made John shift his chair so he could straddle it and lean his chest against the back. She picked up one of the rags and scooped some ice from the pack and handed it to John. "Hold this to your lip so it will not swell too badly."

Hank and Rodney had stayed in their seats. Hank because he knew Nick would handle the situation and Rodney because he wasn't a fighter and the fighters were taking care of the problem.

John took the bundle and pressed it to the left side of his mouth then cut his gaze over to Nick. "What the heck?"

"Lowen. They're lions. They love to fight and the males can be rather aggressive."

John rolled his eyes and Hank laughed. "We broke up a fight ring that a group of them were running last year. It got ugly."

John yelped as Teyla started cleaning the wound on the back of his head. "This does not need stitches but it will be tender for some days." She finished her inspection and picked up the ice pack and applied it to his head. John flinched at the sensation then relaxed as the cold numbed the area.

John glanced over at Nick. "Does that happen often?"

"It used to happen quite frequently. The first few times I went to places frequented by wesen I had to talk fast and still had to be careful. Most were willing to give me benefit of the doubt, but not all. It's one reason why Monroe got involved. Having him along helped. He saved my hide a few times too." Nick picked up his coffee. "Since that first year, word has gotten round and I don't have to deal with that kind of crap. They attacked you because you're an unknown Grimm. If they had realized you were with me, they might've growled and woged, but that would have been it."

"If the one - George - hadn't bumped me and knocked my glasses off, he never would've known."

Hank checked the status of everyone's meals. "Let's grab the leftovers and head to the office. Nick, how about you and Teyla take John out to the SUV while Ronon and Rodney help me get some coffees to go?"

"Sounds good." Nick helped a protesting John to his feet and, with Teyla's assistance, got him to the Tahoe. A few moments later, the coffee team exited the building with two cup carriers and a paper bag.

"Compliments of Mama Leone," Hank said as he passed the hot brews out. "The bag contains two pounds of coffee beans and some pastries. I didn't even get to open my mouth to place the order. She had it ready soon as I stepped up. She promises to knock some sense into her sons."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

When they reached the precinct, Hank led them to a comfy conference room while Nick filled Captain Renard in on what happened. Sergeant Wu brought some cold packs and Tylenol at Teyla's request for John. After taking the tablets, John stretched out on the leather couch to rest. Teyla wrapped a cold pack in some paper towels and tucked it under his head.

A loud bang woke John from his nap. He blinked open gritty eyes to see Wu leaning in the door.

"We got a hit on the APB on that van you're looking for."

"Where?" John, Nick, and Hank asked.

Wu blinked in stunned astonishment. "Wow, I've gotten stereo before but never 3D. Warehouse District; here's the address." He handed the slip to Hank then slid out the door.

John watched as Hank and Nick readied themselves. He knew his team was fast - years of fighting Wraith had a way of beating that into you, but he had no experience with civilian cops. "McKay, see if you can extend the range on your equipment. If that Wraith runs, I want to be able to stay on his trail. Teyla, I want you to see if you can connect and find out where it's holing up at."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The drive to the warehouse was tense. Rodney's mutters occasionally broke the silence but that was it. John had already impressed the danger of the Wraith on Hank and Nick as much as he could. The bösewicht was an unknown quantity. They knew it caused despair and premature aging as it fed, but they had no information on its strength.

"I have him." Teyla's voice broke the silence. "Right now he is feeding. There are two others with him; one he dismisses as a servant, but the other he regards as he would a Queen."'

"Which direction?" Hank called from the driver's seat.

Nick turned and watched as Teyla homed in then pointed. "Head towards High St."

John checked his sidearm one more time to make sure he had the right rounds loaded then he checked Rodney and Teyla's as well. They were all using Hornady Zombie Killers. He'd received some for his birthday the previous year and they did a number on Wraith. He'd been so impressed that the SGC had a private contract with Hornady to supply ammo for Atlantis.

At that moment Teyla jerked and shook her head as to rid herself of an annoying insect. "I can tell you nothing else. He must have sensed me as now something foreign is blocking me."

John reached over and wrapped his arm around his wife. "It's okay, Teyla. You got us close and that helps."

They spotted one of the warehouses with an open door and a busted gate. The area was patrolled regularly and a broken gate would have been fixed quickly to deter squatters. Hank eased the big Tahoe through the gate and parked away from the open door. They dismounted and gathered near the doors. Hank and Nick wanted to take the lead but John vetoed it after reminding them how tough a Wraith was. John and Ronon went first with Nick and Hank on their heels. Teyla and Rodney stayed back as rear guard.

John and Ronon dove through the doors, each rolling to one knee as they scanned the area. The warehouse was dimly lit by a translucent skylight. A broken section served as a spotlight for the grisly display in the middle of the room. Four unmoving bodies lay sprawled on the ground like dolls dropped by a careless child. Of the van, Wraith, witch, or her bösewicht servant there was no sign.

"Dammit! They escaped." John said as Nick and Hank entered the scene.

"Easy." Hank told him in a calm voice. "They may have left clues. Let's check the bodies and call the crime scene gang."

Nick had stopped near Hank. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "They're all dead."

John was about to kneel to check for pulses not that he expected to find any. "How can you tell?"

"I was almost blinded by a Jinnamuru Xunte a couple of years ago. It sharpened my hearing. If I concentrate I can hear heartbeats." Nick said.

John straightened and looked at his fellow Grimm. "I'm afraid to ask, but what is a Jennie Maru whatever?"

"Jinnamuru Xunte. They drink tears caused by grief. They cast a parasite into their victims' eyes that cause them to produce large amounts of tears. The feeding process destroys the victim's eyes and eventually causes their death."

John shuddered at the image Nick's words caused. "How ...?"

"The parasites are susceptible to bright light and we found a cure. Hank and Monroe tracked the creature down and scooped one of its eyes out so Rosalee could finish the cure."

Rodney turned a bit green and stepped outside for a breath of air.

 _*"Go with him please."*_ John sent to Teyla. She nodded and accompanied Rodney.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hank slid a digital camera from his pocket and started snapping pictures before they moved in to examine the scene. It wasn't often they got to a crime scene first so they were taking advantage of the circumstances.

While photographing the scene, Hank noted something that struck him as odd. The four women were carelessly splayed on the floor, but one hand from each met in the center in a macabre 'go team'. He watched his feet, making sure to not step on any prints or other tangible evidence that could be on the floor. He pulled on gloves as he knelt to see what was under their hands.

Hank raised the arm of the girl nearest him and revealed a brownish lump. He shifted on his heels to look over his shoulder at Nick and John. "Hey, there's something strange here."

His partner and the Air Force General moved closer and bent down for a closer examination.

"I don't recognize it. It's not Wraith tech." John said.

Hank glanced up at him. If he hadn't he would have seen the pod shake.

"How would you know?"

"Wraith tech is organic unless it's a grenade. Those are metal and their designs are distinct." John explained.

"Hank, did that thing move?" Nick asked.

"Huh?" Hank looked down just as the pod split open and released a thick yellowish fog into the air. He lunged away from it and missed landing on any of the bodies. Sounds of coughing and feet scuffing on concrete told him Nick, John, and Ronon had also backed off. Two thuds told him someone was down, but he was too busy trying to breathe to find out who.

Running feet heralded backup and Hank scrambled to keep his feet under him as big hands slid under his arms and hauled him away from the bodies. The owner of the hands, McKay, dropped him and ran back inside to return a moment later with Teyla, Ronon stumbling between them.

"I don't see Sheppard or Burkhardt." McKay cried.

Hank waved towards his left. "They were on that side. I heard two thuds so they may be down."

McKay glanced at his teammate. "Teyla, can you sense Sheppard?"'

"He is alive but unconscious."

Hank coughed. "There are gas masks in the trunk."

McKay scrambled to the rear of the Tahoe and returned with the masks and some bottled water. He handed bottles to Ronon and Hank as he and Teyla donned the masks and went back inside.

Hank grew anxious the longer the pair was gone. He wobbled to his feet just as McKay and Teyla appeared dragging Nick between them. They laid him on the ground as they went back. Hank sagged back to the ground and checked for a pulse, his shoulders sagging in relief when he found one. They were only gone a moment when they returned with John and placed him beside Nick. Hank checked him as well and released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Both men were breathing, but their breaths were shallow, their complexions corpse pale as they lay unmoving on the ground.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! A big thank you to all of you for bearing with my irregular post schedule!! A super big thanks to Kickstand75 for betaing this chapter!  
> There are only 1-2 more chapters left and I am working on them, so bear with me. There's a lot of butt-kicking coming and you don't wanna miss it!
> 
> Now, on with our story ...

Rodney looked down at Sheppard’s still form and wondered at the effects of the recent revelations. Finding out that the Big Bad Wolf and a lot of other, formerly make-believe creatures were real had turned his world-view sideways. Finding out that his best friend was part of a group theoretically engineered to act as cops or game wardens to said fairy tale creatures had tilted it even more.

He would never admit it and would, if asked **,** vehemently deny it, but he was worried about Sheppard. Neither he nor Burkhardt looked good. They were pale, their chests barely moving with respirations, and their skin was chill. The pallor of his skin made the bruises from the fight at the restaurant stand out in stark relief.

It had been Hank’s decision for them to leave him there while they got help for Sheppard and Burkhardt. A quick call had gotten them help in the form of Monroe and Rosalee and Hank had visibly relaxed when the pair showed up. Rosalee took the pod so she could examine it for traces of the mixture that took out the two Grimms while Monroe and Ronon loaded the pair into the Tahoe. Ronon then surprised them by volunteering to stay behind. Teyla had questioned him about it, and Ronon’s answer had been that he might find something to help them find the Wraith. Strangely, Hank agreed.

The trip to the Spice Shop had had Rodney checking the mirrors constantly. He’d even managed to stay in his lane and not hit anyone, which would have made Sheppard happy.

Rodney listened as Sheppard inhaled sharply, his breath rattling in his lungs on the way out. “Whatever you’re doing, you better make it quick! Sheppard’s getting worse.”

“Peace, Rodney,” Teyla said as she rested her hand on his arm. “John is strong, as is Nick, and they are fighting with all their might.”

“Look at him Teyla,” Rodney gestured towards his friend’s still form. “He’s literally turning gray.” Sheppard _was_ turning gray. His skin was ashen and his mop of fluffy hair had a substantial amount of gray among the dark strands. Rodney’s shoulders slumped at the reality of the situation. “Face it, of all the things that have tried to kill him, this one may succeed.”

“Have faith, Rodney. Remember what Carson has told us many times, that even though a person may be unconscious they can still hear you. We must think positively and stay strong. John and Nick’s very lives depend on it.”

An hour later, Rodney had started counting the seconds between John’s breaths. The lag was really beginning to worry him.

“Got it!”

“Oh, thank God!” Rodney sprang to his feet as Rosalee and Monroe entered the room where the two men lay. He glanced at their hands to see what form the antidote was in and fell back in shock. “What the hell is that?”

“This?” Monroe held up the item in question. It appeared to be a fireplace bellow, but it had a lidded funnel attached to a tube and a forked nozzle. “This is an _entgiftungsbalg_ , a detoxification bellows. The antidote has to enter their systems the same way that the poison did.”

“So you’re going to put that,” and Rodney pointed at the bellows, “up their noses?” and he pointed to the unconscious Grimms.

Rosalee nodded her head. “Yes. I need you and Monroe to hold them down. When this is administered to wesen, they tend to have a variety of reactions including convulsions. Grimms … tend to go to the extreme. They could be quiet or go wild. We had this problem when Nick encountered a cracher-mortel.”

“Would it not be more prudent to restrain them?” Teyla asked.

“It would, but that can cause problems of its own,” Rosalee said. “I don’t know him well, but I’d guess that John would react very badly to restraints.”

Rodney saw Teyla’s shoulders slump in resignation. It was such a minuscule motion that he only spotted it through long familiarity.

“We need to do this now,” Monroe called from his position by Nick. “Who do we do first?”

“Nick,” Rosalee said in a firm tone. “John’s military training makes him more dangerous. We do Nick first and hopefully he can help us if John gets wild.”

Monroe nodded in agreement then rolled his head and _woged_.

Rodney heaved a sigh and was moving to join the rest at Burkhardt’s side when a thump caught his attention. The first was followed by another and he looked down to see Sheppard arch off the cot. “We have a problem!”

The others turned in time to see John convulse again.

“Change of plans. We have to do John first. Now.”

Rosalee positioned the _entgiftungsbalg_ while Monroe, Teyla, and Rodney readied themselves. She squeezed and the purple powder in the funnel swirled as it disappeared. She worked the bellows again to speed the powder along then removed the device and stood back. At first there was no discernible effect, then Rodney noticed Sheppard’s fingers twitch. The first tics were soon followed by tremors then full body spasms. Rosalee set the _entgiftungsbalg_ aside and jumped in to help. The convulsions increased in severity and Rodney began to fear for his friend, then with a mighty inhale, John heaved upright and managed to break everyone’s hold including Monroe’s then flopped back to lay still.

Rosalee stood and dusted herself off. She peeled back one of John’s eyelids to check his pupils then examined his skin tone. “The gray is fading and his pupils are reacting normally.” She bent to listen to his chest. “And the crackles are fading as well. He’s going to be alright.”

Rodney felt a smile crease his face at the news.

Rosalee stood and picked up the _entgiftungsbalg_ then opened a brown jar and refilled the funnel. “Now for Nick.”

They each took their previous positions as Rosalee inserted the nozzles for the bellows. She pumped it twice then removed it and set it aside. Nick’s breathing eased immediately and his color started returning. Rodney retreated to sit beside John as did Teyla while Rosalee took the device to clean it. Monroe pulled up a chair and dropped into it.

“Man, I’m glad this is …” The rest of his sentence was cut off by a roar as Nick surged upright, skin gone pale, eyes red and filled with madness. Monroe went flying thanks to a powerful right hook.

“Nick? What the heck, man?” Monroe asked as he rose from the floor. His answer was a snarl as Nick charged him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John woke to a cacophony of crashes and roars, none of which were helping his headache. He struggled upright and blinked his eyes to clear them and looked around as another crash sounded. He peered around as he swung his feet off the cot and was taken aback. He didn’t recognize the room he was in, but the place was trashed.

“Nick, no!”

John was on his feet and headed for that cry before he made a conscious decision, not that it mattered. He rushed down the stairs to see Teyla and Rosalee, both with their backs to him, each holding onto an arm, being flung around as they tried to hold back his fellow Grimm. Nick had a tall metal lamp gripped in one hand and was about to bring it down on Rodney’s unprotected back where he huddled on the floor protecting Monroe.

John charged across the space, snatched the rod from Nick’s grasp and tossed it away. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

John was shocked when Nick turned on him, but he didn’t let it affect his actions. He blocked the fist aimed at his head and returned a punch of his own. His right hook landed with the force of a sledgehammer, knocking Nick back and away from everyone else. Without looking away, John ordered Rodney and Teyla to get the _wesen_ out of the room.

“But, John …” Teyla began.

“I’ve got this. Now go!”

He feinted towards Nick and forced the other Grimm back further to give the others a clear escape. “Now, it’s just you and me.”

A wild light entered Nick’s eyes as he darted forward and threw a roundhouse punch at John’s head. John blocked it and the low jab that followed it. He captured Nick’s wrist and, using it to control him, shoved him several feet away. John wobbled as his headache spiked. He needed to make this short. Feigning more weakness than he felt, he lowered his guard and slumped. As expected, Nick took the opening and rushed in. Some part of his brain was working because he waited until the last minute to swing and grazed John’s ribs. John staggered from the blow as he allowed Nick’s momentum to pull him past then swiftly side-stepped into Nick’s back trail and looped one arm about his neck, drawing his fellow Grimm into his chest. John ducked and turned his head inwards to avoid Nick’s searching fingers. “Dammit, Nick! Get ahold of yourself or I’ll choke you out!”

Nick’s reply was a deep growl so John tightened his grip, bringing his other arm up to lock the hold in place. He squeezed and eventually Nick’s struggles slowed. “Come on, Nick! You’re a protector, not a monster. Snap out of it!”

Nick’s frenzy slowed even more as his knees went limp. In his weakened state, John couldn’t hold them both up and thumped to the floor with him while maintaining his grip.

“John?”

Vision tunneling in, John almost missed the hoarse whisper amidst the sounds of their heaving breaths. He loosened his hold a fraction. “Nick? You with us?”

Nick coughed to clear his throat. “Yeah. Thanks for stopping me.”

John released his control and wilted further, his head pounding a crescendo. He managed to get out “You’re welcome” before the darkness closed in.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Still dazed, Nick’s reflexes allowed him to spin and catch John before he hit the floor. He drew him in gently and cradled the other man’s head against his shoulder. “Rosalee! Monroe! I need some assistance!”

Tramping feet heralded the arrival of his two friends, as well as John’s wife and friend.

Rosalee knelt at his side, Monroe hovering behind her. “What happened?” she asked as she peeled John’s eyelids back.

“He took me down. I could see what was happening, but it was just like the time after meeting Baron Samedi. I couldn’t stop.”

Rosalee glanced up at him and Nick could see the understanding in her eyes. “What else?”

“After he released me, he slumped and closed his eyes like he had a bad headache, and then he collapsed. I caught him and yelled for you.”

Rosalee finished her exam and sat back. “Everything checks out so I think this is the headache mentioned as one of the side-effects. He’ll be fine after he gets some rest.” She looked up and stared at Nick. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve got a bit of a headache and I’m really thirsty, but otherwise I feel fine.”

“Seriously? Doesn’t anyone believe in hospitals or doctors? I know medicine is only one step above voodoo, but this is ridiculous!”

“Enough, Rodney,” Teyla admonished.

“No! Sheppard could be bleeding in his brain and that powder they inhaled could be turning their insides to mush!”

Nick started to intervene, but Monroe beat him to it. “Man, I know you’re worried, but chill out! Herbal medicine was around long before doctors or hospitals. Plus, what would we tell the doctors that wouldn’t get all of us locked up, hmmm? The traces of the two powders would raise lots of red flags that none of us need, not to mention the rate the two of them heal. At least, I know Nick heals fast and I’m presuming John does too.”

“Indeed, Monroe. John does heal quickly,” Teyla said.

“Rodney.”

“Yes?”

Nick peered down to see John’s eyes partially open.

“This isn’t SGC. These’re civilian doctors and it’s not like Carson doesn’t look for outward signs before he turns to the scanners,” John ground out, his voice a wreck.

The excitable scientist visibly deflated. “But …”

“I know. You react to certain doom a certain way, but we’re not doomed,” John said softly. “I jus’ need somethin’ to drive away the guy with the pickaxe in my head and some sleep an’ I’ll be fine.”

Rosalee stood. “I’ll make some tea for you then you both need to rest.”

Nick caught her gaze and nodded. “We’ll wait for you here.”

Teyla nodded. “That is an excellent idea. Rodney and I shall stay and assist you in getting settled.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hank entered the Spice Shop with a sense of dread. He hadn’t asked for a phone call, but he’d hoped for one to let him know that Nick and John were okay. The destruction that greeted him and Ronon as they stepped into the private portion of the shop only served to feed his fear.

Beside him, the tall alien stepped forward, palm on the hilt of his gun. “This normal?”

Hank shook his head as he scanned for clues. “No. Not even close.” He edged closer to the back room while Ronon moved towards the stairs.

“Voices.”

Hank hurried over and covered the Satedan as he ascended the stairs to the upper level. He’d heard of a man of few words, but the dreadlocked alien took it to extreme.

“I talk when I have something to say,” Ronon said over his shoulder. “And no, I don’t read minds.”

As he neared the top, Hank hissed and gestured for Ronon stop. “Hello?”

The door opened and a head poked through that he didn’t immediately recognize.

“It’s about time the two of you got here!”

“Nice to see you too, McKay,” Ronon said.

“Yes, yes, I missed you too, Conan. Where have you been?” Rodney said.

Hank decided to cut this short. He needed to know how his partner was. “What happened?” he asked as he moved up the stairs.

“Your partner tried to kill us all!”

“Rodney.”

Teyla appeared in the doorway and placed a hand on the Canadian’s arm. “Be calm. Remember what John said – we are not doomed. Plus, I am certain that he would not look kindly upon being awoken right now.”

Rodney took a deep breath. “You’re right.” He waved back into the room. “I’ll just …”

“That would be fine,” Teyla told him. She waited until Rodney slid back inside then stepped out.

“How are they?”

Teyla smiled. “Nick and John are recovering. There were complications, but they are fine. They are resting currently.”

Hank felt a smile crease his face. “Let me guess. Nick trashed the place.”

A look of surprise crossed Teyla’s face. “How did you know?”

“It’s happened before. So where are Monroe and Rosalee?”

“They are downstairs. Rosalee wished to check Monroe for injuries then I believe she planned to fix a meal.”

Hank gestured up the stairs. “Let’s get cleaned up then we’ll get this place straight. Hopefully, we’ll have an idea of where to find this bunch by the time our Grimms wake up.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick stumbled down the stairs to the aroma of fresh coffee. Rosalee always had the best blend in town. A cheerful blue mug blocked his path and he glanced past it as he reached out to take it. “Thanks, Hank, you’re a life saver.”

Hank smirked as he crossed the room towards the kitchen. “Hey man, no problem. Can’t have my partner dying from malnutrition. Coffee is part of the food pyramid for cops.”

A slurp followed by furious typing sounded from the table in the corner. “Apparently it’s a necessity for scientists too.”

“Any word from the warehouse,” Nick asked as he settled at the table. He still felt a bit shaky after the previous day’s events and was glad he didn’t need to cook.

“No, but Wu said they’d found some trace at the scene and he’d be in touch later,” Hank said as he cracked eggs into a bowl. “I called the Captain and filled him in. He said he’d call if he heard anything through his sources.” He gestured towards a duffle bag lying on the floor. “Juliette came by on her way to work and brought fresh clothes for everyone. She went up and checked on you, but you were still pretty out of it.”

Rosalee glided into the room and made her way to Nick’s side. “How do you feel?”

“Still a bit sore and stiff, but I’ll be alright.”

“Good. Let me know if anything unusual happens. I’m going upstairs to check on John.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla entered the main room as Rosalee stepped in from the kitchen. “Excuse me, Rosalee, but Monroe asks that you join him in the Spice Shop. He said a customer is asking for hellebore and he cannot locate it.”

Rosalee threw her hands up. “Men. Why do we put up with them?”

Teyla thought of John’s soft kisses and agile fingers. “I believe it is because they do have their uses.”

“True,” Rosalee admitted. “I was on my way to check on John. Would you do that while I help Monroe?”

“Certainly.”

“It’s probably better if you do it anyway. You’d be more likely to spot any unusual behavior.”

After a side trip to the kitchen, Teyla made her way upstairs. Sitting on the chair beside John’s bed, she reached out and gently peeled back the covers. John appeared much improved from the previous day. His color was back to normal and the dark circles beneath his eyes were reduced to faint shadows. Reaching out, she brushed her fingers along his cheek and into his hair. She had missed sleeping next to him last night. On her third pass, she felt him stir and glanced down to see John’s eyes opening.

“Good morning, sleepyhead. It is a bright and beautiful day outside.”

John groaned and burrowed his head beneath his pillows. “Ugh. Just shoot me now and put me out of my misery.”

“I have something better,” she replied as she bent over and picked up a thermos. She unscrewed the top and held it out. As she knew it would, the smell of rich, dark coffee drew him from his burrow.

John sat up and took the thermos, drinking deeply. “You are a goddess, Teyla.”

“We have known each other for many years and seen each other in many situations. After all that time, I would hope I know what you prefer when you wake.”

“True.”

Teyla sat on the chair near his bed. “How do you feel this morning?”

John set the thermos aside and stretched. “Stiff and a bit sore. A hot shower and a couple of Tylenol will take of that.”

“Here,” she held out a small tote bag. “I anticipated your needs and inside are fresh clothes and a packet of Tylenol. The bathroom is across the hall. While you shower and dress, I shall see about getting you some breakfast.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John stood under the falling water and let the pounding spray massage his sore body even as he let his mind go still. He wouldn’t call it meditation, although others would, but the act calmed his thoughts and allowed actions to make themselves known. So much had happened in the last week that he needed time to assimilate. Everyone who’d ever gotten him to try meditation, Teyla included, always told him to clear his mind and he failed. He wasn’t in Rodney’s league, but his awareness was always in motion, keeping an eye out for possible threats.

His stomach growled and told him in no uncertain terms that it was time to eat. Shutting off the water, he dried and dressed in the black BDU’s Teyla had brought. He padded down the stairs in the old building, past Rodney who was ensconced in the corner typing madly, probably haranguing one of his minions via Instant Messenger. Ronon nodded from the stove then turned back to whatever he was cooking, which John hoped was his breakfast. Nick and Hank were at the table hiding their grins as Teyla played gofer for Ronon.

John joined them and poured another cup of coffee. “What’s on the agenda today?”

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to put an end to this,” Nick said. “It depends on whether the lab results come back today.”

“They should,” Hank pointed out,” considering how badly the department wants this case closed.”

“My people want it over quickly too. The sooner we get rid of this Wraith, the sooner we can go home.”

Nick and Hank looked at him strangely, but John was used to it. “You don’t consider Earth home,” Nick asked.

“Nope, haven’t for years,” John said. “It’s nice to visit, but Atlantis is home. The city responds to me as though it’s alive.”

John leaned back as Ronon set a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage in front of him.

“Yeah, can’t wait to get back,” Ronon said.

Nick and Hank turned to discussing current cases as John tucked into his food. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was true. Atlantis was home and he couldn’t wait to get back.


End file.
